Archives for December 1, 2006

‘Shawne Merriman vs. Jason Peters/Robert Royal.’

‘Bills running back Willis McGahee missed Friday’s practice because of an illness, but head coach Dick Jauron doesn’t think the problem will prevent McGahee from playing Sunday against San Diego.’

‘Meanwhile, Tomlinson, who is third in the NFL in rushing with 1,146 yards, is averaging 134.6 yards over his last five games with a whopping 14 touchdowns. He leads the league in all-purpose yards with 1,602 and has scored 24 touchdowns overall. That’s just five shy of breaking Shaun Alexander’s single-season record of 28 established just one year ago. Imagine preparing for a player who has scored touchdowns running (21), receiving (three) and passing (two). What can’t this guy do?’

‘The Bills are especially concerned about the mismatch at strong safety, where rookie Donte Whitner (5-10, 204) meets star TE Antonio Gates (6-4, 260), a converted college basketball player who leads the Chargers with 50 catches for 604 yards and five TDs. Getting Whitner some help will start with making sure Gates is hit every time he releases from the line, even when he splits out wide. "They get mismatches and it’s hard to defend him," coach Dick Jauron said. "He has size advantages on defensive backs, athletic advantages on most linebackers. They move him all over. He’ll be split out. He’ll be outside the wide receiver. He’ll be inside. So it’s difficult."’

‘Buffalo’s two-game winning streak has the Bills in the general vicinity of the AFC wild-card race, but at 5-6 with teams like Kansas City (7-4) and Denver (7-4) ahead of them, players and coaches know their margin for error is small. In fact, the Bills’ final schedule is third toughest among AFC playoff contenders with their final opponents a combined 33-22 (.600).’

‘I think Hansen definitely is a Wall of Famer, and he will get my vote. There are a few Bills who will have to get the honor ahead of him. But he deserves it.’

‘”I don’t get caught up in that stuff because it can be your best friend and your worst enemy at the same time,” he said. “I’m getting married this offseason, I’ve got a little daughter and we’re trying to build a home and a family, so I have other important stuff to worry about. The chips are definitely going to fall where they may. But right now, all I’m about is working hard, trying to get better and doing whatever it takes to help this team win football games.”‘

‘”We had a cool relationship in college, but it was competitive at the same time,” Schobel said. “He was the best on our offense and I was the best on defense, so we were always fighting to see who was No. 1.”‘

‘Yet, Schobel remains one of the most unheralded defenders in the NFL, along with Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson and Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman, among others. "If you show your face on TV, and you dance and you do a bunch of crazy stuff, they start knowing who you are," Schobel said. "I’m just not a guy that does that."’

‘According to Losman, the players exchanged pleasantries but little else. “I don’t think any of us spent a lot of time with each other,” Losman said. “There was a competitive ‘niceness’ about us. We were trying to be cordial but still trying to scratch and claw (to impress the scouts) and not give away our secrets.”‘

‘”The No. 1 issue for us this year is having four games after Thanksgiving,” Bills treasurer Jeffrey Littmann said. “It led to a drop in season ticket sales and that puts pressure on individual sales. After Thanksgiving, historically, it’s just very hard.”‘

‘San Diego 27, Buffalo 13.’

‘Approximately 8,700 tickets remain for Sunday’s game. Plenty of tickets also remain for the Bills’ final two home games – Dec. 17 against the Miami Dolphins and Dec. 24 against the Tennessee Titans. Barring a sudden surge in ticket sales, those two games could also be blacked out locally.’

‘Buffalo’s Roscoe Parrish is averaging 13.9 yards a return. Last week against Jacksonville he scored on an 82-yard return. Perhaps more impressive, he had a streak earlier this season of five consecutive games with a return of at least 15 yards. Scifres has punted an NFL-low 41 times, yet has planted 21 of them inside the 20-yard line, second-most in the league. Just 16 of his punts have been returned. His net average of 39.2 yards ranks third in the league.’

‘The high is forecasted at 35 degrees with a 40 percent chance of snow. While that could be worse for upstate New York this time of year, it’s also a far cry from San Diego. Rivers, an Alabama native who played his college ball at North Carolina State, has never before played a game in snow.’