Archives for January 2005

‘The oddity is, though, Bills fans might get more effort from both Pittsburgh and Indianapolis than they expect.’

‘”Any time you put on the uniform and go out there, you play with a lot of pride,” he said. “It comes down to whoever’s out on the field is going to play as good as they can for a lot of reasons … but mostly for pride and yourself. You look at the way we’ve played all year and there’s guys who have gotten hurt and other guys have stepped in and played very well. So whoever’s on the field will be trying to win.”‘

‘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.’

Cowher sticking to QB plan (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Staley to give it a go vs. Bills (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Veteran corner proves critic wrong (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Steelers activate St. Pierre, release Doering (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Season not what Scott was expecting (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Line hopes to continue domination (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Steelers’ Bettis out for Bills game (AP)

Maddox, Scott back in Steelers’ lineup — but possibly not for long (AP)

Steelers-Bills matchups (Steelers.com)

NFL.com voters select Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger as Week 16 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the week (Steelers.com)

Steelers Promote St. Pierre to Active Roster, Release Veteran Receiver (Steelers.com)

‘”I think anybody who has a lot of playing time has two or three things bothering him at this point,” said Bills guard Ross Tucker, who wouldn’t disclose his injury list for fear an opponent would find an edge. “If you feel great now, what have you really been doing? Everybody has aches and pains bothering them. It’s part of the mental toughness of the game, to get through it. But you have to know your opponent has the same things and you have to force them to yield before you do.”‘

‘The Colts do have some minor incentive beyond “staying sharp.” They might want to take at least the first half to see how that well-oiled offence works outdoors in cold weather. It’s possible Indy could be forced to win tough playoff games in both Pittsburgh and New England to advance to the Super Bowl.’

‘Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes warned: “No one had better take us lightly. We have put our troubles behind us and proved we are a play-off calibre team. It is not totally in our own hands but if we get there we will have a lot of confidence.”‘

‘Barring a playoff berth, which is anything but a sure thing heading into this final weekend of the regular season, Buffalo’s game against Pittsburgh is the closest these Bills will get to vying for a championship. The bragging rights from a victory and the glow from a 10-6 record should be warm enough to last until training camp kicks off next summer.’

‘Bills, 27-13.’