Archives for October 25, 2005

‘Buffalo, which despite everything is still just a half-game back of the lead in the AFC East, also remained winless in three road games this season and has not won away from home since defeating the San Francisco 49ers on December 26 of last year.’

‘Donahoe in my mind is out of mulligans, but in Ralph Wilson’s mind, Donahoe is a complete success. The stadium is filled for every game and the team is marketed well. Donahoe does get credit for that, but he missed on selecting a head coach in Gregg Williams and has a grade of incomplete for Mike Mularkey. I would think after five seasons of missing the playoffs, he’d realize that building a football team starts with the big men up front. He should be held accountable for taking a large step back on the football field this year, but that is just not going to happen. I sometimes wonder if he spent as much time worrying about football as he does worrying about what is written and said and how he will get back at certain media members, this would be a better team.’

‘The offensive line battled all day but has yet to find the consistency to play to their full potential this season.’

Milloy brings memories (Boston Herald)

Patriots Open Divisional Play Against Buffalo (Patriots.com)

Raiders Report Card (Oakland Tribune)

Strategy and personnel (The Sports Xchange)

‘It would help if the opponents weren’t converting nearly half of their third downs against the Bills. While the Bills’ defense ranks 12th in time of possession (29:19), opponents are 37 of 81 on third down against Buffalo (45.7 percent). Only San Francisco (48.2) and the New York Giants (49.4) are worse. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rank No. 1 at 28.2 percent. Last season, opponents converted only 36 percent of their third downs against Buffalo.’

‘The year the Bills win the Super Bowl, Tom Brady is drummed out of the league after being exposed as a Satanist, the entire Miami Dolphin team is suspended for substance abuse violations and/or jailed for criminal activity and the Bills send all 22 starters to the Pro Bowl. Hope springs eternal.’

‘”I don’t know what happened, I’ll have to look at the film,” Teague said. Why Teague and the Bills would want to watch the film of this debacle is beyond comprehension. What could Teague possibly learn that everyone who watched the game doesn’t already know?’

‘Dillon has been dinged up and ranked 23rd in rushing heading into the weekend, but his statistics are destined to get healthy fast against this Bills defense. The Raiders’ LaMont Jordan ranked 26th in rushing and look what he did. For seven games Buffalo has struggled stopping the run, so how do they suddenly start doing it? Watch more film?’

‘Buffalo is an early 8-point underdog against New England and I’d give Kelly Holcomb one more start at quarterback. If the Bills lose, any reasonable playoff hopes would be erased and I’d hand the starting job back to J.P. Losman. He’d resume his on-the-job training during the bye week for extra preparation before facing Kansas City at home on Nov. 13.’

‘For those tempted to ask “Why can’t we get players like that” let the record show that Milloy isn’t the same guy who took over the Pats’ starting job in Week 7 of his rookie year and was often dominant through the 2001 Super Bowl championship season. He’s more like the 2002 version of Milloy (no sacks, no interceptions, no forced fumbles), a player who hits like a truck but no longer has the wheels to get everywhere he needs to get to. Bill Belichick still deserves credit for recognizing that ahead of the rest of the league in 2003. The Pats don’t need Milloy. But they could use his mouth.’

‘The Bills benched second-year pro J.P. Losman in favor of Holcomb because the veteran could read defenses quicker. But reading and reacting are two different things. Holcomb, who was sacked three times, was under intense pressure all day Sunday, and couldn’t find the time to exploit a Raiders secondary wracked by injuries.’

‘Failing to take at least one shot deep against a depleted Raiders’ secondary was shocking. What happened to max protecting and putting the ball up for grabs, anything to get something started?’

‘CB/KR Terrence McGee injured his right leg in the second half of Sunday’s game against Oakland. His status for this week’s game at New England will be updated on Wednesday, coach Mike Mularkey said, but he felt the NFL’s leading kick returner would be fine to play.’

‘The tryout will be held in Buffalo in Tuesday, November 1.’