Archives for January 3, 2006

‘Interestingly, Wilson, 87, said he wants to take a more active role in his team again. When he hired Donahoe, Wilson relinquished the title of president. It’s known that Wilson has not been happy with Donahoe’s recent drafts, particularly the selection of tackle Mike Williams with the fourth overall pick in 2002, and wide receiver Roscoe Parrish last year.’

‘The effort was there again for coach Mike Mularkey, but as was often the case this season, everything went up in flames due to turnovers, red-zone mistakes, odd play calls and too many big plays allowed by the defense. In the end, even the club’s reliable special teams broke down. Mularkey pushed all the right buttons during last season’s 9-7 finish but seemingly couldn’t hit any right in this year’s crash to 5-11.’

‘”Close won’t get you anything in this league,” said strong safety Lawyer Milloy, who won a Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots. “It’s all about wins and losses, and to be 5-11 with the expectations we had in this locker room, it’s not good enough. That’s the bottom line.”‘

A nice farewell (New York Post)

Inside slant (The Sports Xchange)

Strategy and personnel (The Sports Xchange)

Notes, quotes (The Sports Xchange)

‘"If we’re all honest with ourselves, we should expect change," veteran safety Troy Vincent said Monday after the team held its season-ending meetings. "When you’re 5-11 with greater expectations, with enough talent on your team to win, you have to."’

‘”You’re going to have some adversity in the game that you didn’t practice for, “Holcomb said. “They made some plays in the first half where we knocked the ball straight up in the air and they were right there. Sometimes the ball bounces your way … today it didn’t.”‘

‘”I’m not going to go right now where we need changes or if we need changes … especially after a disappointing loss, where we lost at the end of the game,” Mularkey said. ” I wouldn’t care to even make a statement about it.”‘

Sure, he failed in one attempt as a head coach, but that was at Buffalo where there hasn’t been a lot of success lately. His critics charge that Williams is perfectly suited as a coordinator but overmatched as a head coach and point to the Buffalo experience — where he lasted three years — as proof.