Archives for December 19, 2006

‘In addition to winning out, the Bills need help. They need to move ahead of three of the four 8-6 teams listed above. Here are some key scenarios Bills fans should root for this weekend…’.

‘For Schobel, this is his first Pro Bowl selection and comes during his most productive season. With a sack in the 21-0 win over Miami last weekend, the 2001 second-round draft pick has 10 1/2 in his past eight games.’

‘Punter Brian Moorman will be making his second straight trip to the Pro Bowl after leading the league for virtually the entire year in net punting. And defensive end Aaron Schobel will be making his first trip to Honolulu as he’s putting together a career season.’

‘Because of Sunday’s problems, the Bills have implemented a new rule. If you buy tickets on-line within ten days of the game, you have to print them out yourself and cannot pick them up from the Will Call window.’

‘They’re getting a resilient effort from what was initially knocked as an uninspired draft class, which now features five players providing significant contributions — from first-round pick Donte Whitner starting 12 games at safety, to seventh-round pick Terrance Pennington starting the past seven at right tackle. And they’re led by first-year coach Dick Jauron, whose even-tempered approach has engendered a team-first spirit that was particularly lacking last year, when the Bills unraveled under the weight of infighting and bickering between coaches and players.’

‘"As the season has gone on we’ve been able to do more third down and red zone situations with (Losman)," said Fairchild. "Early on I was cautious maybe to a fault with him, but we’ve said all along that we knew it was going to be a process. And that process isn’t over. We’ve still got a long way to go."’

‘Then they spent two hours, from 12:15 to 2:15 p.m. Sunday, standing in line at the ticket window waiting to pick up their will-call tickets. So they didn’t get inside Ralph Wilson Stadium until two minutes remained in the first half.’

‘Here’s a look at four Dolphins drives and what Buffalo did to stop them…’.

‘Sunday hasn’t been quite so much fun in awhile. With two weeks to go, it’s time to give the rookie GM a share of the credit.’

‘”I do believe it’s everything,” coach Dick Jauron said. “J.P. and the offense, they all know each other a little better, every practice, every game, really almost every day they time it up a little more. The longer they are together, the better they are going to be. That’s up front with the line, the timing with the receivers, everything. They have a nice feeling, a nice faith in each other and it’s growing.”‘

‘Marv has a plan and just needs time, as if it’s 1987 all over again. Everybody keeps asking if the Bills will make the playoffs, but because they don’t control their own destiny, there’s no way we can say with certainty that they’re in or out. This is only the third time in the last seven years when we are even talking about the postseason in late December, so that’s encouraging. As you said, the hole got pretty deep. If only the Bills had beaten Detroit.’

‘”I was with a team that did it. I was with the Redskins (in 2005), I think we started off 3-6, then we went out there and finished the season, I want to say (with) seven straight and was able to make it to the second round (of the) playoffs,” he said. “I looked at the talent level that we had at the Redskins and the talent level that we have here and I knew we were capable of it.”‘

‘”The weather is hard to deal with here,” Jauron said. “It wasn’t snow and it wasn’t cold, but I’ll tell you, the wind was a real factor and maybe our guys are used to it. I thought J.P. performed pretty well in the elements. As we’ve said all year, he has steadily improved and he deserves credit. He knows he can play better and he knows that we all need to play better, but it was a big win for us.”‘

‘Offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild earned kudos for showing faith in Losman and having him throw deep into the wind. Those TD plays broke Miami’s back and its spirit. Defensively, Perry Fewell continues to work wonders with a lineup using five rookies. His unit’s three fourth-down stops to go with two interceptions allowed the Bills to control momentum all afternoon. After a 2-5 start, Dick Jauron has maneuvered his team to a 5-2 record and .500 standing for the first time since Week 2. The turnaround probably comes too late to get the Bills into the playoffs, but they’re making it interesting for the present and encouraging for the future.’

‘DE Aaron Schobel’s one sack against the Dolphins gave him 13.5 on the year and sole possession of the NFL lead.’