Archives for January 2009

‘"Without question, this [victory over Houston] was the game of my life," Reich said afterward. "I was pretty emotional when I got to the locker room. I couldn’t hold back the tears."’

‘The Bills got off to a great start in 2008 and thoughts of playoffs were dancing in fans heads. It came totally crashing down with losses in eight of the last 10 games. Everyone was calling for Dick Jauron’s head except Ralph Wilson who is keeping his coach and his coaching staff despite the collapse. There is bitter disappointment about how 2008 turned out and little optimism about 2009. Now for the ninth year in a row we do our position by position final exam grades as well as individual player grades for key players at each position.’

‘Thanks to Ko Simpson’s new years declaration to police that “I’m Ko Simpson with the Buffalo Bills. I am worth millions,” the Bills became the first NFL team to have a player arrested in 2009. Something to be proud of, indeed.’

‘Simpson played in all 16 games this season, starting in 11, but his playing time dropped off considerably when Bryan Scott moved into the starting role at strong safety, moving Donte Whitner to free safety.’

”"It’s not what happened," Simpson said of the account presented in a police report. "Basically man, this is a bunch of bull."’

Copy of the report in pdf format.

‘Officers asked Simpson to leave the parking lot, and he started to walk away, but then returned, yelling again.’

‘Buffalo Bills safety and former Rock Hill High standout Ko Simpson was arrested outside a Rock Hill bar early New Year’s Day after police say he wouldn’t leave while they were trying to clear the area.’

‘”For me I’m using it as motivation,” said Schobel of the critics. “A lot of offseasons I take off a lot at the beginning of the year, but I feel like I’ve already got a lot to prove.”‘

‘”It’s nice to be wanted,” Wire said.’

‘"We were trying to be a top 10 defense," said cornerback Terrence McGee, who may have been the MVP of the unit. "Like Perry (Fewell) said, we have to eliminate the big plays. You have to make plays and not have those explosive plays against you if you want to be a top 10 defense.”’

‘Trickery at the right time is the difference between special teams being an asset and a nonentity; the same can be said for football in general, as seen with the two teams in question that faced off Sunday. Of course, the Bills weren’t sharp enough to refrain from forcing their primary back for the day to work during kicks, so why would they possess the sense to even consider that fooling an opponent is an option?’

‘If Rian Lindell hits that 47-yard, game-winning field goal attempt against Cleveland on the final play, nobody second-guesses Jauron’s lack of offensive aggressiveness on the final drive. If it’s Trent Edwards at quarterback, instead of strip/sack magnet J.P. Losman, running what could have been a game-clinching rollout pass against the Jets, it might have worked …. and at very least probably wouldn’t have been one of the most memorable fumbles in team history. Winning those two games would make the Bills 9-7 and obviously an improved team over the 7-9s of 2006 and ’07.’

‘”I think that makes it easier on a lot of guys knowing coach is coming back and we have the same coaching staff,” said Fred Jackson. “We have the same kind of schemes to work on. Knowing that I could just go watch film and correct the things that we did this past season knowing that’s what we are going to work on for next season.”‘

‘Only three teams have started 5-1 only to finish with a losing record in the 31 years the NFL has been running a 16- game schedule.’