Archives for November 29, 2004

‘Coach, what has changed about this team from the start of the year? They suddenly are overcoming their mistakes. Drew threw 3 picks against Seattle but we still crushed them. Is this team finally buying into what you preach and are they finally playing football the way you believe they are best off playing with tough physical play?

MM: We not making the same mistakes that we were earlier and if we do make one mistake we can overcome it, which we did not do earlier in the year. That “here we go away” mentality is hopefully gone.’

‘I for one was excited when I heard the Bills took McGahee in the 2003 draft. If you could say one thing to some of the doubters of that pick, what would you say?

TD: Everyone was entitled to their opinion when we selected Willis McGahee in the 2003 Draft. As an organization, we had great faith in Willis and great faith in our medical people. It really came down to whether we were willing to be patient enough to give Willis a chance to rehab and to get healthy. We are starting to see that patience pay off with his performance this year.’

‘Mularkey added the team is conducting further tests on Henry, and should have a more definitive diagnosis when the Bills return to practice on Wednesday.’

‘Starting in place of quarterback Jack Kemp was rookie Daryle Lamonica, who was making his first pro start. The attack was simple-run the ball against the New York Jets’ defense. "Our game plan was to run Cookie and we stuck to it," said Lamonica. "I told him before the game, ‘I’m going to put you to work’."’

‘Willis McGahee: Became only the third player in Bills history to record four rushing touchdowns in a game (Cookie Gilchrist, 5, 12/8/63, and Roland Hooks, 4, 9/9/79).

‘Even if they run the table before Pittsburgh visits on Jan. 2, Buffalo postseason aspirations rely on two pretty good teams among the three atop the wild-card standings — Baltimore, Denver and the New York Jets — completely collapsing. That’s probably not going to happen.’

‘TE Mark Campbell’s three TDs in a November 21 win over the Rams show what a threat he is in the red zone. He is good at finding soft spots in the secondary and has the size (6-6, 255) and hands to make plays in traffic. His receiving skills are too good to be ignored.’

‘Buffalo would need a miracle to make the AFC playoffs. Yet, the Bills dominated Seattle, which has a strong chance to make the postseason even land a home playoff game because the Seahawks play in a conference in which five of the 16 teams have winning records.’

‘"Personally, I was skeptical of the call when I heard we were going to do the onsides kick," Buffalo offensive guard Ross Tucket said, "but then we got the ball, and I thought it was the greatest kick ever."’

‘Seattle was only able to gain 230 total yards of offense on the day compared with Buffalo’s 434. And 72 of their yards came on Seattle’s only touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter with the game already out of hand at 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. 38-3. I can type that all day long.’

‘However, eight teams are still ahead of them in the AFC standings, most of them at least three games ahead with only five to play. So this isn’t about the post-season … it’s about the future. And something special is happening with this team.’

‘The Bills outgained the Seahawks, 434-230, and held the ball for 36:24.’

‘Maybe it was the cheeseburgers, or simply the law of averages. The Bills had won four straight home games. Sooner or later, they were bound to play a good game away from Ralph Wilson Stadium. But no one could have expected a victory of this magnitude. This was the Bills’ most complete game of the season, home or road. It was Mularkey’s finest hour as a head coach, a coaching clinic by the entire Buffalo staff.’

‘"I’m not surprised we shut them down," said Bills cornerback Nate Clements. "That’s what I expect out of us. We practiced hard all week, watched a lot of film and got some good tips on them. With the players we’ve got, I wouldn’t expect anything less."’

‘"For him to go down like that, my heart goes out to him," offensive tackle Mike Williams said. "Everybody in this locker room knows how hard Travis works, so it’s tough to see something like that happen. But whatever it takes, I know he’s going to work hard and he will come back because that’s the kind of player he is."’