Archives for October 27, 2005

‘But that’s been the modus operandi of the Bills in the Tom Donahoe regime. Find somebody to blame, as long as it’s outside of the organization. It’s time the Bills took a serious look at themselves to see where the problems lie. It’s with a coaching staff that can’t decide on a starting quarterback. It’s with an offense that hasn’t had a 200-yard passer for 11 straight games. It’s with an offensive line that resembles a sieve. It’s with a defensive line that allows opponents to average 5.1 yards per carry.’

‘I’m not at all surprised that New England and Buffalo are squaring off with the division lead on the line. But this isn’t exactly a clash of the titans.’

‘Why do we no longer throw deep?

Josh Reed: I don’t know. We make the calls to go deep but you might have a guy in the quarterbacks face or maybe sometimes the quarterback doesn’t feel comfortable with what he has so he just takes what he can get.’

‘”My experiences there for seven years are definitely unforgettable for myself and my family. But I’m trying to create memories for myself here in Orchard Park.”‘

‘The Bills have struggled to stop opposing ground games this season – they’ve allowed an average of 159 rushing yards per game, 31st in the league – but that doesn’t mean Lawyer will stop being Lawyer. In other words, he’ll be bringing plenty of attitude with him on each play. And Lawyer being Lawyer, he’ll have something for No. 12 – as well as the Gillette Stadium fans – when he hits the field Sunday night.’

‘I admit it, I was wrong…’

‘”Everybody’s like it’s doom and gloom,” acknowledged quarterback Kelly Holcomb, referring to the mood around town. “But we’re still in the hunt of this thing, and we have a big game coming up Sunday night against the world champions. I think everybody’s looking forward to this game. Nobody really thinks we can beat them except the guys in that locker room. If we just take that (attitude) with us, be mentally tough about it, I think we’ll be OK.”‘

‘But if you think Sunday will be just another game for Milloy, think again. He can deny it, but he wants desperately to beat the Patriots. In Wednesday’s team meeting, Mike Mularkey made a few brief remarks. Then he turned things over to Milloy, who challenged his teammates to take their preparation to a higher level.’

‘”I’d like to get out there and see, but it’s out of my control now,” he told reporters. “I’m back. I’m a player. I’m a member of the team. So I’ve trusted my coaches ever since I was in high school. Whatever my coach decides to do, I trust that.”‘

‘”We need to at least make the defense play honest,” said Evans, who averaged 17.6 yards per reception last year and scored nine TDs, but is averaging just 12.9 this year with one TD. “It’s tough on your offense because you need big plays to help you win games. It helps you change momentum in a game. It’s hard to pinpoint, but we haven’t been able to execute.”‘

‘”Just knowing coach Belichick, he’s had two weeks to humble all his players, get them refocused,” Milloy said. “He has an uncanny way about making them feel like they’re not champions. Believe me, this week, they’ve gotten back to basics and he’s making them believe they’re normal. That’s one thing he’s good at.”‘

‘Beating the Bills would go a long way toward putting their season on the right track.’

‘”In the National Football League, unless you make your corrections from the previous week, you will get big doses of that to see if you’ve made those corrections,” said Bills free safety Troy Vincent. “We’ve struggled since Week One in the running game. We’ve given up big plays periodically in each of those football games. Until we make those corrections, we’ll see that every week. They’ve had an additional week to break us down and an additional week for Corey (Dillon) to get back on his feet. He’s a fine football player, one of the best backs in the league and a Pro Bowler a year ago.”‘

‘”Lawyer Milloy has been an absolute charm to work with,” fellow starting safety Troy Vincent said, adding, “They call us fire and ice. … Having the chance to play alongside him has been one of the highlights of my career. It’s been fun. But Lawyer is, as we all know, a different character, but he comes to play on Sunday.”‘