Archives for January 4, 2005

‘The Bills — from coach Mike Mularkey to team owner Ralph Wilson — agree with Bledsoe. “It wasn’t all Drew,” Wilson said, following Buffalo’s season-ending loss Sunday to Pittsburgh, when Bledsoe struggled.’

‘Mularkey said he will evaluate every player on the team in the next few weeks. "We have a lot of evaluations in line," he said. "Players, obviously the schemes, and that takes a long time to do. You break down every play in all phases and you break down every player and just really evaluate whether it’s the player or the scheme that allowed this play to be good or bad."’

‘For the 12th time this season, the Bills defense allowed less than 300 yards, limiting the Steelers to 262 total yards yesterday.’

‘The Bills’ nine wins came against teams with a 55-89 record (.382 pct.) and only two clubs, the Jets (10-6) and Seahawks (9-7), that finished with winning records. By contrast, their seven losses were to teams with a combined mark of 76-36 (.679 pct.), the only one with a losing season in that group being Oakland (5-11). In short, Buffalo was 7-1 against non-winning clubs and 2-6 against teams over .500.’

‘Part of the reason Vincent was moved to free safety was the impressive play of Terrence McGee during the veteran’s absence. After a few bumps along the way during his first few starts, the former fourth-round pick excelled. McGee ended up with three interceptions for the season in his new role. However, even more impressive was McGee’s blossoming role as the team’s primary kick returner. He tied a franchise record with three kickoff returns for touchdowns during the year, the longest being a 104-yard return against the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 5. The spectacular play now stands as the longest kick return ever by a Bill. McGee’s accomplishments didn’t go unnoticed – he was selected as the AFC kick return specialist in this year’s Pro Bowl.’

‘Enter J.P. Losman. The rookie quarterback has had a year to learn Mike Mularkey’s offense and has had occasional chances to get his feet wet in some of the late season blowouts. He was drafted to eventually succeed Bledsoe as Buffalo’s starting quarterback and next season’s opener should be the time for that to happen.’

‘”Overall, I am proud that I was able to stay the course and keep going forward as a leader on this team through some very hard times,” Bledsoe said. “I am proud of that. As I’ve said, playing this position, that’s the biggest challenge you face if you’re going to do it for any extended time. You have to deal with the lows and be able to keep going forward through that. I’m proud of how that played out.”‘

‘”I had a good career here,” he said. “I learned a lot here. I look at it as a good experience. I’m just ready to get back healthy and get back to doing the things that I know I can do on the football field.”‘

‘If the Bills expect to win a Super Bowl with the guy, they’re kidding themselves.’

‘Bills defensive coordinator Jerry Gray is a possible candidate to be interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at Syracuse, a source told the Buffalo News. The Orange is looking to replace Paul Pasqualoni, who was fired last week.’

Parker another weapon (Beaver County Times)

A Meaningless Game? Not to Steelers Reserves (New York Times)

Steelers’ backups weren’t about to back into the playoffs (AP)

Steelers report: Strategy and personnel (CBS Sportsline)

Parker was well-rested for his big break (Steelers.com)

‘I keep thinking of that crumpled sign I spotted in the stands on Sunday. “Do you smell the playoffs?” Turns out all we were smelling was a fraud.’

‘Not great, but not bad, and being not bad is about the best many Bills observers could have hoped for given the way Bledsoe had played from the middle of 2002 through the middle of 2004. But is playing not bad going to be good enough to get the Bills over the hump and into the playoffs?’

‘It’s believed Buffalo will try to recoup the first-round pick (20th overall) that they’ve shipped to Dallas to consummate the deal last spring for the chance to draft quarterback J.P. Losman. However, with a strong free-agent class of running backs, including Shaun Alexander, Edgerrin James, and Rudi Johnson, along with a strong college class, the market for Henry may be very limited.’

‘After the loss to the Steelers, I framed a question to Mike Mularkey that was a polite way of asking if the Bills basically got a little tight around the collars. The question was if winning is still a learning experience, with the game against the Steelers clearly the most important of the season even though the Bills had six straight wins. Mularkey said no, that all the games were basically the same; they were all important because a loss at any point would all but end the playoff hope. The coach said the game against Pittsburgh only SEEMED bigger because the media and fans made it so. Sorry, but I’m just not buying that.’