Archives for September 2008

‘Discounting the handful of sluggish early possessions, Buffalo performed exactly as advertised, running when necessary and using short strikes to set up rare but effective big plays; all the while, they moved the ball consistently during their 34-10 rout over the Seahawks. It was almost as if they were following a plan.’

‘”Our special teams took the air out of them today,” safety Donte Whitner said after the Bills’ 34-10 victory. “Whenever you block a punt, block a field goal or take a kick back, it takes the air out of the opposition. … It gave us the momentum.”‘

‘”You’ve just got to have that swagger back there,” said Parrish, who led the NFL with a 16.3-yard average last season. “That’s the key, you know? When I return punts I try to have fun and trusting the guys in front of me, just knowing they are going to do a good job blocking. That first man you just can never let him tackle you.”‘

‘”We got kicked around pretty good today,” coach Mike Holmgren acknowledged after his team absorbed its 34-10 pounding in Ralph Wilson Stadium. “Give the Bills credit. They did a great job. Clearly our inexperience in certain areas showed.”‘

‘”When Marcus first came in, he said, ‘I’m going to get my ankle right and I’m going to be an impact player for you guys, week in and week out,'” Wilson said Sunday after the Bills drilled the Seahawks, 34-10, at rainy Ralph Wilson Stadium. “He’s just showing you guys the tip of the iceberg.”‘

‘It would have been nice to hear Lynch’s take on the afternoon, but that’s his choice. He’s not the first player to withdraw from the spotlight. The offensive linemen on the Denver Broncos have declined interview requests for years. But the day will come when he’s summoned to the podium and forced to comply with NFL rules regarding dealings with the media. And on that day he’ll encounter the questions he could have been done with at the start of training camp instead of prolonging the inevitable.’

‘”We’ve played together for a while,” Walker said. “Some of the things we tweaked, like me going to left tackle and Kirk coming in. But for the most part, everything was the same as last year. So I wasn’t worried about our cohesiveness at all.”‘

‘Jauron had them primed and ready to play. Schonert’s debut as coordinator was a success. Fewell did nice job of moving around defenders.’

‘”The atmosphere was amazing. Everyone was standing up the whole game,” said 16-year-old Lake View resident Joe Pezzino III. “The defense was just stopping Seattle.”‘

‘Billoni said an anonymous donor from a nearby suburb presented a check for $100,000 to the drive. With the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation agreeing to match the donation, it brought the day’s total to $218,000.’

‘He said the number of arrests Sunday – when the home team romped to a 34-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks – was about average.’

‘”It was as good as could be expected in all phases of the game – offense, defense, and special teams,” said Jauron. “I can’t say enough about the preparation of our staff and of course our players just performed.”‘

‘For crying out loud, Dick. Just admit it. Winning the opener, especially in such impressive and convincing fashion, was a huge deal for a team that hasn’t come out of September with a record above .500 in this millennium, which, by the way, coincides perfectly with the Bills’ eight-year playoff drought.’

‘”It’s pretty evident he’s a force to be reckoned with,” defensive end Chris Kelsay said. “When you have a guy like that inside, it makes everyone else better.”‘

‘”They didn’t see (Denney) out there,” Moorman said. “It’s one of those things. It’s tough with everybody coming in and coming off. I know, because we’ve had it done to us in the past. It’s one of those things that probably has a higher success rate early in the season because teams haven’t worked on every scenario yet.”’