Archives for January 2, 2005

‘First-year coach Mike Mularkey never promised his team would be contenders overnight. Rather, he has methodically built an offence to complement the once-struggling quarterback Drew Bledsoe and the Bills defence has clearly established itself as one of the best in the league.’

‘All this after an atrocious start that saw Bledsoe struggle and get hammered behind a porous offensive line, and Mularkey come under fire from owner Ralph Wilson, who criticized the offense as too conservative. As Bledsoe put it, “When the guy whose name is on the checks says he’s not happy, you’re going to stand up and take notice.”‘

‘"We got real fans here," Williams said. "They’re rough."’

‘”What we’ve done shows how we feel,” Bledsoe said. “We were 0-4 and 1-5 and got beat up pretty good in New England. I think everybody probably, at different times, had written us off and cast us to the side. But the guys on the team, the guys in the locker room and the guys on the coaching staff stuck to our guns, and we kept working. We’ve dug ourselves out of a hole to a place where we have a chance to continue on if we can win.”‘

‘How much would Mike Mularkey like to win Sunday’s game against his former team? “When we talked this morning, you could see it. Not to downplay it, but anytime you face your former employer, you want to get at them,” cornerback Troy Vincent said.’

‘"They’re very good, they’re swarming," said Bills coach Mike Mularkey. "There’s 11 guys just constantly around the football. It’s impressive the way they play."’

‘Coach Mike Mularkey said Villarrial didn’t work the entire practice and he’s still listed as questionable on the injury report. But Villarrial did enough to leave open the possibility of playing Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.’