Archives for September 27, 2006

‘On the biggest problem in the red zone: “The red zone is a difficult area of the field to score for offenses and it puts a lot of pressure on the defenses so when you are down there your margin for error is very small. Even if you are off a little bit it can throw you off and you have to be pretty much perfect to get some points.”‘

‘On Antoine Winfield and Pat Williams: “It is what it is they are not here.”‘

‘On the red zone: You have to be precise, most definitely. The thing that’s hurt us the most are penalties and our own mistakes. It seems like when we get down there, something always happens, there’s a penalty or something. You guys don’t see it, but it’s more internal stuff that we can correct. Paying more attention to details, we have a lot of guys doing a lot of different shifting, a lot of guys moving. One play I’m a Z, next play it might be Robert (Royal) and I’m the X. We have to get in our playbooks and study it.’

‘All quarterback J.P. Losman would say is "I heard some guys talking about it, but I really don’t know any of the details. If it’s true, our prayers go out to him ,and best of luck on a fast recovery.”’

‘On the difficulties on the red zone: It’s the short field. They don’t have to cover as much ground. Safeties can sit short. We have a lot less room to work with and there’s no threat of going deep. We just have to punch it in with the run game, but if you can’t somebody is going to have to make a play. It’s going to be tight throws and a great catch. Coaches can only take you so far in the red zone. You can’t just draw plays for guys to get wide open all the time. It happens once in awhile. For the most part, it’s going to be executing the play and picking up the extra couple yards.’

[Scroll down to Jauron/McGahee]

Q: What is JP Losman like as a leader on offense?

A: He’s coming around. I would say he’s a whole lot better than what he was last year. He’s actually sitting in the pocket, making the right reads and making the throws. You can just tell that he’s actually developing a whole lot more than what he was from last year.

‘On trash talking with Pat Williams: I don’t anticipate any chatter. If I’m talking to him, that means I’m not getting past the defensive line. I plan on getting to that next level. Maybe talk to the linebackers.’

‘On Pat Williams: “I think from a talent standpoint, losing Pat is a hard guy to replace, because of things he was able to do from a physical standpoint and as you watch film on him you see him still reeking havoc over there in the NFC. Also from a personality standpoint Pat was a guy everybody loved having on the football team.”‘

‘The Vikings are holding opponents through the first three weeks to just a 28.6 conversion percentage, seventh lowest in the league. With Buffalo’s offense managing just a 27.8 percent success rate in moving the chains it’s easy to see the challenge the Bills could be faced with on third downs Sunday.’

‘On Spikes and the other injuries: We have him as questionable, that’s where all those guys should be. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. Particularly with a hamstring injury, you just don’t know.’

‘Bills linebacker and HopeLine spokesperson London Fletcher encourages fans to bring their no longer used wireless phones to the game and deposit them in collection bins at any of the 10 gates as they enter Ralph Wilson Stadium. The first 1,000 fans to donate a phone will receive a poster featuring Fletcher. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. Gates open at 11:30 a.m.’

‘Vikings 27, Bills 19.’

‘"It helped me to stick around for as long as I have," said Neufeld, who is in his sixth season. "It’s been good for me. Sometimes it’s challenging because I have to play multiple positions, but that’s something I pride myself on being able to do. I’m able to step in when needed."’

‘New coach Dick Jauron was asked the other day if he felt his offensive coaches needed to get the tight ends more involved and he indicated that no, they didn’t. "I like our tight ends, let me say that, but I don’t know that we need to incorporate them more," Jauron said.’