Two Bills Drive

‘”They are prideful men. They know that there are a lot of things that happen in the month of December every single year. There are teams that rise out of the month of December and get back in the hunt. We have to be very physical in this month of December. We’ve got some pretty good opponents coming up through this month and we’ve got to play much better against the Jets at home this week.”‘

‘Jerry Smith, veteran head football coach at St. Francis HS has been named the winner of the seventh annual Buffalo Bills Western New York HS Football “Coach of the Year” Award for the 2003 season. Smith will be honored at ceremonies held Sunday, December 7 prior to the Bills-NY Jets game at Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘The win isn’t going to save any jobs, and Buffalo remains all but eliminated from a postseason berth, trailing Miami by three games with four to play for the final wild-card berth.’

‘The Bills went up 17-7 by halftime, and the Giants barely bothered showing for the second half, buried again by turnovers, penalties, poor tackling and missed assignments.’

‘”You can’t put your finger on any one thing,” wide receiver Ike Hilliard said. “It’s just a situation where we’re all paid professionals and right now we’re not doing our jobs really well. Whether it’s dropped passes, turnovers, penalties, missed assignments — they’re all combining to kill us as an offensive unit.”‘

‘If they had anything to say, the fans said it with their feet. Most of them were on the Turnpike, or Route 3, long before the Giants managed their initial first down of the second half, 58 seconds into the fourth quarter; a sure sign that lethargy has spread from the playing field to the stands.’

‘”If you are going to be a leader on the team,” he said, “it’s more important to be on the field when things are going bad than when they are going good.”‘

The victory over the Giants was a reminder that the Bills should have been battling for a playoff berth right to the end. It also should have been a suggestion that better days should be ahead with better handling of this team.

‘”The difference in the game today was we made the plays in the passing game,” Bledsoe said. “We’ve been running the ball well and did again today. Travis Henry had another 100-yard game. But the thing that’s been lacking offensively are the plays in the passing game.”‘

‘For three straight weeks, they played their hearts out and had nothing to show for it. Any sensible group would have thrown up their hands and coasted. So what did they do? They played another terrific game. They shut down the NFL’s fifth-rated offense as the Bills beat the Giants, 24-7, to end their four-game losing streak.’

‘In one of his best games of the season, Bledsoe completed 19 of 29 passes for 252 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to finish with a sparkling 115.9 QB rating.’

‘”I’m going to get a lot of sleep (Sunday night), too, because I’m tired,” said Williams, whose sweat-soaked, blood-stained uniform told of his hard day’s work against Strahan. “The man is good. I’ll give him props (proper respect). He’s an outstanding pass rusher.”‘

‘Any Bills fans wondering about the job security of coach Gregg Williams knows exactly what’s transpired this season with Jim Fassel and the Giants. The Bills came in with a four-game losing streak and left with a rare victory after totally dominating the Giants, who for the first time in Fassel’s seven-year tenure lost their fourth consecutive game.’

‘The Giants announced a sellout crowd of 78,481, but the figure represents tickets sold. There had to be at least 20,000 empty seats, and with five minutes left there couldn’t have been 10,000 people in the stadium.’

‘Give Henry valor award for gutting it out again. He had 113 yards on 26 carries. He wore them down with 92 in second half.’