Two Bills Drive

‘Let Gilbride work on the game plan during the week, but on game day the demanding job of operating that plan needs a fresh set of eyes.’

‘The Texans have been one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL.’

‘Prediction: Bills 28 Texans 20 (Season record 5-4). The 28 points will come from 6 field goals and 2 safeties. You don’t really think this offense could score four touchdowns!’

‘”Everybody has to look at themselves and say, ‘Am I doing enough to help the team win?'” Moulds said. “If not, then get out of there and let someone else do it. We’re not playing well enough to do anything right now. Seventeen quarters without a TD? That’s ridiculous. There are semi-pro teams that score more.”‘

‘This really needn’t be difficult. The Texans are an improved team on offense, are well coached under Dom Capers, and they’re dangerous, judging by wins over Miami and Carolina. But Houston is 31st in defense, 29th against the run, and this is a prime opportunity for the Bills struggling offense to get well again but running the ball to their hearts delight. Cincinnati used 57 rushes, good for 240 yards, to earn a 34-27 victory last week. The Titans have a mere eight sacks so protecting Drew Bledsoe shouldn’t be the problem it’s been lately. Defensively, Texans’ young gun David Carr, receivers Andre Johnson and Corey Bradford, and rookie RB Domanick Davis command respect. But the Bills No. 3 unit is coming off a strong game against Dallas and should be primed for a big day at home.’

‘At 4-5, the Bills are far from eliminated from the playoff chase, particularly for a wild-card berth where an 8-8 mark might be good enough to win a spot in the topsy-turvy AFC. “We’re back at home. We’re still in the mix,” coach Gregg Williams said. “We’ve got a lot of areas on our football team that are playing very strong and what we’ve got to do is get a couple of the other ones fixed and we’ll be right back in the mix again.”‘

‘Bills owner Ralph Wilson, Jr. has purchased more than 4,000 tickets to this weekend’s game with the Houston Texans and has donated them to local military personnel.’

‘Haggan (6-3, 248) was selected by the Bills in the seventh round of the 2003 Draft out of Mississippi State and has spent the entire season on the practice squad.’

‘Moulds still leads Buffalo with 41 catches for 542 yards.’

‘The same injury forced Moulds to miss games against the New York Jets and the Washington Redskins in October.’

‘By spreading the Bills out with three and four receivers, Houston can mitigate the strength of Buffalo’s defense. Linebackers Takeo Spikes, London Fletcher and former Texan Jeff Posey form one of the best units in the league. The Bills’ safeties, though, are among the worst. Lawyer Milloy and Izell Reese were brought in to make big plays. Last year, Buffalo’s safeties did not have an interception or a forced fumble. This season, the Bills have created just 10 turnovers, and none of the team’s seven interceptions are by a safety.’

‘”We played last year and there were many times when our offense had to bail our defense out,” Williams said. “We’d give up 29 [points] and have to score 30 to win a ball game. Our defense is playing really solid right now. The special teams are playing really solid. Those two phases need to bail out the offense a little bit until they get kick-started again. We’re really only one or two plays away from getting it rolling.”‘

‘”I could have played for the Raiders in a heartbeat. We tried to work out a trade with the Steelers and the Raiders both, but Ralph Wilson, our owner, would not trade me. He said if he did he’d have to leave the city.”‘

‘”What this is all about is hope because it is the hope through my son that we will make a difference,” Kelly said. “And already since we started the foundation the awareness has grown almost six figures. We see people in airports and they ask how Hunter is doing first before asking what’s wrong with the Buffalo Bills.’

‘”I think it’s great,” Tasker said. “I didn’t expect it. It’s certainly flattering, no question about it. It never ceases to amaze me that people remember when I played the further it gets into the history books. I’m flattered even more so that people still remember that I actually played and sometimes played pretty well.”‘