Archives for October 2008

‘He was all over the field in the final 15 minutes, whether it was stopping the run at the line of scrimmage, defending passes in the secondary or harassing the quarterback.’

‘”There’s a lot to like about this Bills team,” I said. “They’re confident and humble at the same time. I think Jauron sets the tone. The players have faith in their coaches. That’s no small thing.”‘

‘”I would have preferred to at least played one or two by now, but it is what it is,” said linebacker Kawika Mitchell. “We’ve got three in a row and it should be fun to see how that plays out. Everybody’s playing pretty well right now. You can’t count out New England even though they’re struggling a little bit, it’ll be interesting to see. Hopefully we can continue to be strong in all four quarters and these are the most important games, so we need to get it done.”‘

‘”I think the loss of power should be a wake-up call for all of us,” Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard said. “We were lucky it happened when it did. Had it been a night game, I think the loss of power would have been much worse.”‘

‘More than a dozen state troopers conducting a wide DWI Saturation Patrol following Sunday’s Bills game charged three people with drunken driving, including a Lancaster man with six prior alcohol-related arrests, state police said.’

‘"He played well," coach Dick Jauron said of the 27-year-old six-year NFL player. "He did what we wanted him to do. He’s a very physical football player. He was out there to play a physical part in the run game because he is a bigger safety and to give Gates a little different look because he’s a tough tight end to cover for anybody. (Gates) has a knack for getting open, and Bryan did a really good job."’

‘We can get into specific examples, but in general, Schonert and Fewell have shared an aggressive approach to their game management. By doing so, they’ve fostered an attitude of playing to win rather than passively trying not to lose. That’s what it takes in the NFL, where so many teams have pretty similar talent. It’s all about attitude.’

‘”Guys look up to him and guys look to him to make plays like that,” defensive end Chris Kelsay said of Mitchell after the game.’

‘Their final 10 games are at Miami, the New York Jets, at New England, Cleveland, at Kansas City, San Francisco, Miami, at the Jets, at Denver, New England. Combined record: 17-25.’

‘”We just got to keep playing. Just keep working and keep playing. Every week is different. Every team presents a new problem…so just keep playing. Every team presents a new challenge.”‘

‘”A lot of guys learned how to play last year,” wide receiver Lee Evans said.’

‘Dick Jauron told his team that everyone expected the Bills to lose, and he had them ready to play in the biggest game to date and produced a statement victory. On offense, Turk Schonert utilized a quick passing game to help the offensive line, and it worked perfectly as Edwards was never harassed and had a record-setting day. On defense, Perry Fewell came up with an interesting wrinkle to help defuse the effectiveness of Gates. Meanwhile, the run defense was outstanding.’

‘”It was a challenging week,” Scott said. “We had a few guys banged up, so other guys have to step up and the coaches did a great job preparing us. We really were a cohesive unit. We were able to go out there and get the job done. I just tried to do the best job I could do to stay on (Gates) so that (QB Philip) Rivers had to look the other way.”‘

‘”It’s weird not having seen any one of these teams to this point this year,” offensive lineman Duke Preston said Monday. “It is a test that I think we’re ready for.”‘

‘Coach Dick Jauron on Monday said DiGiorgio was having further tests to determine the severity of the injury. Jauron had previously said he wasn’t optimistic about the player’s status.’