Archives for November 28, 2006

‘"The good Lord, He had a lot to do with it," said McGahee of being able to play with pain of three broken ribs and get through Sunday’s game. "I just prayed and rested. That’s all."’

‘Four plays in particular helped them pull off a 27-24 upset over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The plays were a combination of fine blocking, but also great individual effort by the skill players involved. Here’s a closer look…’.

‘But after the last two weeks, it’s hard to imagine Losman losing his hold on the Bills’ starting quarterback job for next season. Losman took a big step these last two games – his 18th and 19th NFL starts. Something clicked once he had the equivalent of a full season under his belt. It’s no longer a question of whether Losman will survive, but how much better he’ll be with another year’s experience and a better supporting cast.’

‘”We tried to start out good, but things weren’t going our way and we went into our little drought,” said McGahee, who was at the team’s practice facility Monday even though the players had the day off. “But we knew things would turn around for us eventually. We just couldn’t keep staying in that drought. We’re learning how to finish right now. Even though we were up, 24-17, and [Jacksonville] came back, we didn’t lose our composure. We didn’t panic. We knew what we had to do.”‘

‘Yet despite allowing 395 rushing yards the past two games, the Bills, inexplicably, won both games.’

‘When it’s all said and done, the epitaph on the 2006 season is going to read that it was a decent and perhaps better-than-expected first year under the new Levy/Jauron regime and that maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel after five years of darkness under you-know-who (initials T.D., G.W. and M.M.).’

‘Of course, the argument loses its steam given how blindly fans have supported the Bills the past three miserable seasons. The real answer, most likely, is discriminating buyers are finally getting fed up with failed promises. Recent wins aside, as a viewing spectacle the Bills have been light on sizzle. They may be an improving young team, but it’s getting old.’

‘”The line did a good job giving J.P. time to find his way in the pocket,” Parrish said. “When I saw J.P. scrambling, I just worked my way to get open. He did a good job of launching the ball down the field, and I just tried to keep my feet inbounds.”‘

‘At the bye week, Buffalo was among the most undisciplined teams in the league in terms of turnovers and penalties. But the Bills have drastically cleaned up their act, and the result is wins in three of their past four games.’

‘DT Larry Tripplett had his best game as a Bill with 1.5 sacks, two QB hits, four tackles and a forced fumble. He now has sacks in consecutive games for the first time in his five-year career.’

‘Through the first 10 games of this season, Parrish and McGahee were two of Buffalo’s most disappointing players on offense. Parrish, who has been excellent as a punt return man all season, truly lived up to his billing on his touchdown, and his abovementioned sideline catch was perhaps the Bills’ best reception of the season. McGahee, who entered the contest with just one touchdown through eight games, eclipsed that mark in Buffalo’s win.’

‘It’s way too early to use the “p” word if you mean playoffs, but a “p” word that can describe these Bills is progressing.’

‘As Parrish recalled, “The line did a good job of giving J.P. time to bounce around in the pocket. When I saw (him) scrambling, I worked my way to get open, (he) did a good job of getting me the ball and I just tried my best to keep my feet inbounds.”‘

‘”We’re a bunch of guys who know there were some plays we left out there today,” he said. “Our opponents are going to get tougher … tougher games are going to come (such as next Sunday against San Diego at ‘The Ralph’). So there are still some things we have to take care of to get where we want to get.”‘

‘The attendance of 63,608 was the fewest at “The Ralph” since the 2002 season finale against Cincinnati drew 47,850.’