Archives for October 2005

‘But, alas, the Bills’ situation isn’t totally bleak. The AFC East is a mess.’

‘But clearly, Saban’s presence already has the Dolphins on the rebound.’

‘Kelly Holcomb gave the Bills play at the position they haven’t had all year. He was calm in the pocket, accurate in his passes, and even threw a touchdown pass to a wide receiver. He matched J.P. Losman’s output from last week and the week before in the first half of the first quarter. He had a 106.1 QB rating and was 20 of 26 for 169 yards and no interceptions to go along with his one touchdown pass. Grade A: Earned another start.’

‘I know coaches can’t look past this week. They should take it one week at a time. But we’re allowed to speculate. Holcomb makes the Bills better now when they need to win games. Until the focus is “wait ’til next year” Kelly should the the QB.’

‘The Bills (2-3) came storming out of the locker room as if their season was on the brink. On Buffalo’s first three drives, Holcomb directed the offense to two touchdowns and a field goal. The Bills led, 17-0, after just 22 minutes. Holcomb spent the rest of the day avoiding big mistakes and watching the Bills’ defense make enough big plays to squash Miami’s comeback effort.’

‘”I came out of coverage and I saw that Fletch (linebacker London Fletcher) had already secured the tackle,” Clements said. “(Brown) was trying to fight for extra yards. By doing that, the ball was hanging out there. I just tried to go for the ball and I was just blessed that it came out. We needed a big play right there and we got one.”‘

‘”Buffalo won the game, and I give them credit. They’ve been through a lot, they’ve been struggling, and they had the whole quarterback situation to deal with this week,” defensive end Jason Taylor said. “They won the game, but you can’t tell me they beat us. I don’t care what anybody says. I know we lost the game, but they didn’t beat us.”‘

‘I wouldn’t be so smug, though, because the Bills have to be a lot better offensively in the coming weeks to keep the Holcomb Playoff Push churning. They have not scored a TD in the second half all year. Opposing defenses have done an impeccable job of adjusting after halftime. Sunday, they had 75 total yards in the second half. For the season, they’re averaging 85.’

‘”It’s not to say that I’m right, but it’s just the fact that I think the people deserve better,” Moulds said. “I think we feel like we got a good team, but in order for us to be a good team we got to go out there and get it done. Somebody has to speak up and say something. And why not me?”‘

‘”Yeah, of course, you’re very upset, you’re mad, you’re trying to find all these things negative and turn them into a positive,” he said. “All these feelings you’re feeling embarrassment for your family and friends. That’s probably the biggest thing. It’s something you just have to grow and get over. That’s like little kid stuff in high school or college, you’re embarrassed about your family and friends seeing you fail a little bit.”‘

‘Game Balls: The Bills will distribute them this week. In the meantime, we give them to Clements, Holcomb and return man-cornerback Terrence McGee.’

‘Move to Holcomb worked. Team came flying out of gate. He got wideouts involved. No-huddle worked.’

‘Fish ate too many chicken wings Saturday night. Eighteen penalties? Please. Didn’t run Ronnie Brown enough.’

‘No, Kelly Holcomb isn’t Jim Kelly. Nor is he likely to be the quarterback of the future for the Bills, or any NFL team for that matter. But for now, the veteran backup was just what the struggling squad and its restless fans needed.’

‘Bills coach Mike Mularkey wouldn’t acknowledge that Holcomb will get the starting job next week against the New York Jets, though it’s impossible to imagine otherwise.’