Archives for January 2007

‘If the Bills were smart, they’d lock up the classy Evans long term as soon as possible. He’s no longer a star in the making; he’s simply a star.’

‘The long drought may at long last be coming to an end. Now THAT would be cool, wouldn’t it?’

‘”I’ve always put the team first,” Fletcher said. “But I told them, in this situation right here, this is one time I have to be selfish with this decision and do what’s best for myself and my family.”‘

‘Wide receiver Andre Davis found a niche for himself on special teams where he excelled at the gunner position despite constant double teams and at times triple teams this season. He was one of the leading tacklers on coverage teams. He’s also bounced around the league a lot the past couple of seasons playing for Cleveland, New England and now Buffalo. "This is my fifth year so time is steadily ticking by," Davis said.’

‘Wilson was not shy to say that his team still has a long way to go with some major holes to fill in the off-season. But with a good draft and some offensive line help, Wilson believes for the first time in five seasons that the Bills are going places and that the playoffs could be on the horizon.’

‘”I would say the outlook for this team is a lot more promising,” Bills linebacker London Fletcher said. “We all know how close we were to making the playoffs, but we also know how far we are. We made a lot of progress and got a lot better from beginning to end. But still a lot more work needs to be done.”‘

‘McGahee has played hurt this year. He’s played hard – although he didn’t seem that inspired Sunday. But he’s kidding himself if he thinks the Bills are going to hand him a lucrative signing bonus one year before his original contract expires. McGahee isn’t an elite back, and he doesn’t have much leverage. It could be that he’s trying to create friction and force a trade.’

‘”I definitely understand this is a business,” he said. “From my rookie year to now, I’ve seen a lot of people come through Buffalo and leave, so I know that I could be here one day and be playing for somebody else the next. All I can do is to just play the best I can whenever I’m out on that field.”‘

‘”I guess we lost all confidence in the run towards the end and started passing,” he said. “But I had a bad game. I wasn’t playing that good, so that’s why they probably didn’t go to it in the second half.”‘

‘Bills could not run. The Ravens’ defense ranks second in the NFL. It stuffed the Bills’ run game, ranked only 27th.’

‘The Bills’ home schedule includes games against the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens. The Cowboys have not played in Buffalo since 1996. The Giants haven’t visited since ’99, and the Ravens never have come to Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘Jauron and Fewell found a way to give team a chance to win. It was 9-7 late in third. There’s reason for optimism.’

‘”I haven’t had any feeling the last five years,” an upbeat Wilson said, referring to the numbing nothingness that shrouded his team throughout nearly the entire five-year tenure of Donahoe. “This year, and it’s not pie in the sky stuff, I have a very good feeling that we’re on the upswing. We have a great coaching staff, and now we have to get better talent. That’s the way I see it, and hopefully we’ll get it.”‘

‘”I know everyone in that locker room isn’t happy,” said Losman, who rang out 2006 by tossing two interceptions in Sunday’s 19-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. “It’s the first time in my career that I finished an NFL season and I know what it feels like to put every ounce into it and not be going to the playoffs. My body is beat up and you ask why? But it’s for that chance. Everybody has plans of not feeling like this next year.”‘

‘In 2007, it would not be a stretch for Bills fans to believe – like Wilson – that this team can finally break its millennium-long postseason absence and not only make a run for a playoff berth, but actually earn one.’