Archives for September 2005

‘Michael Vick is scheduled to go through a battery of tests today, including an MRI, to determine the severity of damage to his left hamstring. Falcons coach Jim Mora said he’s optimistic Vick will play Sunday at Buffalo, but until the team gets results of the tests, Vick is listed as questionable for this weekend.’

‘Talk about debunking a tease in one week.’

‘On the second play of its final possession, with 3 1/2 minutes to play, the Bills had 73 yards and four first downs in less than 18 minutes’ possession time.’

‘For one series in the fourth quarter, head coach Mike Mularkey benched Losman in favor of veteran Kelly Holcomb. “I put Kelly and Shaud (Williams, backup running back) in there to see if we could get a spark at both positions. We were stagnant all day and (I was) just trying to get something going.” To which Losman responded, “I’m upset … I don’t want to share this position. But this is a team game and I realize I’m young and the coaches know what’s best for me.”‘

‘With today’s loss, Buffalo snapped their 5-game winning streak against NFC opponents.’

‘For the next three hours, the Buccaneers seemed to know exactly where the Bills wanted to go, they usually were waiting for the Bills to get there, and Losman couldn’t figure out what to do about it.’

‘"He broke our back today, especially on those long runs," Bills free safety Troy Vincent said. "He is a guy that you can’t count on going down until you are sitting on top of him."’

‘Sorry, but when Josh Reed is your most effective offensive weapon, something is wrong.’

‘The Bucs played like they had something to prove, holding the Bills to just 147 total yards – only 47 on the ground – and keeping the opportunistic Buffalo offense out of the end zone for the first time in eight games, dating to a 29-6 defeat at New England last Nov. 14. The Bucs, in fact, have not allowed a touchdown on defense in two games this season, having forced five turnovers in last weekend’s 24-13 victory at Minnesota.’

‘Right tackle Mike Williams got a scare when his left leg was rolled up in a pile of players in the third quarter. The team said Williams suffered an ankle injury, though he didn’t walk with a noticeable limp in the locker room after the game.’

‘Clad again in their throwback uniforms, the Bills turned in a road performance that was a throwback to the worst moments of the Bledsoe era.’

‘Offense didn’t come up with any solution to Bucs’ defensive scheming. Defense had trouble adjusting to runs up middle.’

‘Gruden made good use of his 3:17 a.m. wake-up calls. Kiffin made Losman’s life miserable. Maybe these Bucs are for real.’

‘"They blitzed more than we expected them to," said wide receiver Eric Moulds. "We expected them to come out and play similar to what they did at Minnesota in the first game. But they came out and totally shocked us as far as when they started blitzing. They had a great game plan and they executed it."’

‘Before padding his statistics during one final possession in garbage time, Losman was a mere 5 of 18 for 39 yards, including 3 of 10 on third down throws, many alarmingly off target even when he had time to throw.’