Archives for September 23, 2006

‘The Bills’ special teams’ ascension to the top of the NFL coincided with the arrival of coach Bobby April in 2004. He brought a greater commitment to that aspect of the game, something that hadn’t existed since General Manager Marv Levy was the Bills’ head coach. A special teams guru for 15 NFL seasons, April drills his players on everything from proper blocking techniques to staying in their lanes when covering kicks to being fundamentally sound tacklers.’

‘When the St. Joe’s graduate and New York Jets tight end steps on the field Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, he will be looking to beat the team he grew up rooting for.’

‘State officials and the Buffalo Bills are discussing a possible $20 million package of state-funded improvements for Ralph Wilson Stadium that could be announced before Gov. George E. Pataki leaves office at the end of the year. Details haven’t been finalized, but part of the money would be used to help pay for relocation of the stadium’s press box.’

‘The two organizations and the Bills’ alumni association are donating $3,000 to the GC [God’s Children] Cowboys to help replace equipment and food stolen by thieves this week.’

‘”We’ve had to deal with crowd noise the last couple of games,” said quarterback J.P. Losman. “It’s fun to play away, but there is nothing like being home. It’s a nice comfort. Now we can take advantage of things and, hopefully, the fans will come up big for us.”‘

‘”We couldn’t find three in a row together anywhere but the top row. We were blown away. We couldn’t believe how fast some of the seats went.”‘

‘The improved Bills (1-1) have become one of the more fun teams to watch, with a sack-happy defense and a special-teams unit that has been lauded as among the NFL’s most dangerous. McGahee has rushed for 161 yards in the two games (seventh in the AFC), but he’s burned the Jets for three straight 100-yard performances, with Buffalo taking two of the last three meetings.’

‘”Whoever wins the game and had a better game gets to talk. There’s only so much talking you can do when you lose,” Vilma said. “There’s always going to be something said. Willis likes to talk trash. I like to talk trash. So it just makes the game that much more fun, that much more exciting.”‘

‘Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma and Bills running back Willis McGahee work out together in Florida during the off-season and challenge each other in video games. So you know they’re looking forward to meeting each other Sunday in Buffalo, even if that meeting results in numerous clashes of helmets and pads. “There are going to be situations where either I’m chasing him or he arrives in the hole,” Vilma said Friday. “It just depends on how their offense plays to our defense.”‘

‘While the Jets once had the premier unit in 2001 and 2002 under Westhoff, the Bills have had the best special teams the past two seasons and continue to impress again this year. The Jets would like to regain that title and hope to show it this weekend by shutting down the Bills. “We think of ourselves as (the best),” linebacker Matt Chatham said. “But you can’t just call yourself that. You have to go out and do it. These are those weeks where you really take advantage and try to move up the rankings in the NFL.”‘

Hurricane Forces (New York Post)

Vilma, McGahee fight for ‘Cane reign (New York Daily News)

Friendly combatants (Newsday)

Jets’ game of musical running backs goes on (White Plains Journal News)

Jets have something special to show Bills (Newark Star Ledger)

Jets say offensive line will do fine (Bergen Record)

Jets’ Coles still questionable for Bills game with calf injury (AP)

A Special Game Approaches (NewYorkJets.com)

‘Ralph Wilson is creating an alliance with western New York politicians and business leaders as he tackles the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.’

‘For one, tailgating can begin at 8:00 a.m., an hour earlier than last year. Bills vice president of communication Scott Berchtold said, “We open the gates five hours ahead, instead of four hours, to park, and we just encourage fans to come in, tailgate, do it responsibly.”‘

‘Senator Schumer has repeatedly threatened to push for the removal of the NFL’s anti-trust exemption if the Bills were forced to leave New York State.’