Archives for November 2006

‘The Bills certainly got the attention of the Jaguars thanks to their victory over Houston, a team that has somehow managed to beat Jacksonville twice this season. But an attentive and respectful Jaguars defense may not be such a good thing for the Bills. Led by their DT combo of Marcus Stroud and John Henderson, the Jags are tough to run against as they rank sixth in the league at 95.8 yards per game. If attacking by air seems prudent, consider that the Jags rank fifth in pass defense with an average yield of 183.9 yards, and they have 22 sacks, 14 interceptions and are No. 1 in the NFL in red-zone defense (allowed TDs just 30 percent of the time). This is the best defense Buffalo has seen since the Chicago game, and we all know what happened there. Buffalo does have some confidence, though, after last week’s breakout game. Losman threw the ball well, Lee Evans was otherworldly, the line played stout, and the Bills won. If the Bills hope to win today, the line has to play its best game of the season, and if the run game bogs down, Losman will have to be sharp and play turnover-free.’

‘”I’ve had a lot of advice, but people have told me to appreciate what I have and to live each day one day at a time because you never know what’s going to happen.”‘

‘”I understand why it’s there, you have to sell tickets and make us come to the games,” says Luconte, who grew up in Buffalo. “But there are so many fans here in Rochester who can’t afford it, don’t have the time or simply like the view from their couch. It’s frustrating to me because we support the team and put money into their pockets in so many other ways.”‘

‘”We want everybody to be able to watch at home,” Littmann says. “The reality is that the blackout rule does work and long term, if you don’t have a sold-out building, you won’t have a good program. As much as it hurts from time to time to not have those games on local TV, it’s all part of maintaining a healthy franchise.”‘

‘”I told I’d do whatever it takes to help us start winning,” Peters said. “They believe in me that I can get the job done. I believe I am up to the challenge.”‘

Out and down (Florida Times Union)

Their seasons, deep-sixed (Florida Times Union)

Father sometimes doesn’t know best (Florida Times Union)

Ranking the NFL (Florida Times Union)

Gameday (Florida Times Union)

Key point (Florida Times Union)

Waiting on Williams is a tough call (Florida Times Union)

Jags call on Garrard (Orlando Sentinel)

Jaguars at Bills (Orlando Sentinel)

Jaguars ‘D’ rolls on despite injuries (Florida Today)

Bills have hot combination (Jaguars.com)

‘The Bills would appear to be headed toward a seventh consecutive non-playoff season, but a win on Sunday would keep their slim wild-card hopes alive. “We are going to constantly grow and get better. There is no time to be complacent or show signs of regress. All positive, moving forward is what we want,” Losman said.’

‘Added Losman: "Hopefully, this is the turning point." That remains to be seen for a team that’s not won back-to-back games since October 2005 and faces a stiff test against a stingy Jaguars defense.’

‘"I am still learning, I am still trying to hone my game and be a better NFL quarterback," he said after leading the Jaguars past the New York Giants on Monday night. "I still have room to grow and hopefully with the starts that are coming I will be able to get better in those areas."’

‘Despite this week’s failure, the Bills have a tremendous track record of selling tickets, especially considering their lack of success on the field this decade. They have sold out 27 of the previous 28 games at Ralph Wilson Stadium, all in time for the TV blackout to be lifted.’

‘"London is the quarterback of our defense," said Clements. "He not only has to know his position, but what the d-line is doing as well as the secondary. For him to be able to take that all in and still go out and make plays on the run, it’s amazing to me."’

‘The last time a Bills home game failed to sell out: Oct. 31, 2004 against Arizona.’

‘This is just the second time in the past 29 regular season home games that the Bills haven’t had a sellout.’

Jags’ offensive line quietly improving (Florida Times Union)

Wilford practices again, should play for Jags (AP)

Wild-card race tightens (Jaguars.com)

Jaguars’ 6-4 worthy of respect (Jaguars.com)

‘More than 7,000 tickets are still available.’