Archives for September 7, 2000

Dr. Z doesn’t have a whole lot to say about the game itself. Mostly, he compares and contrasts the announcing styles of ESPN’s Sunday night crew with ABC’s Monday night bunch. Still, it’s an interesting read, with a few nice comments and insights in it.

‘The Titans didn’t rush for enough yardage in Buffalo. The Titans didn’t throw enough downfield passes in Buffalo. The Titans offense, one that had sparkled in the preseason, was just nowhere to be found in Buffalo. OK, now tell the Titans something they don’t know. "We knew going in (the Bills) were going to play that kind of game," Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger said. "We told our guys it was going to be a slow, methodical game against a defense that deserved their ranking last year (No. 1 in the NFL). We were going to have to pick and choose, we were going to have to be smart, and when the one or two plays came free we were going to have to make them. "One or two plays came free and we didn’t make them," he added. "Anybody that wins against (the Bills) will have to win ugly."’

‘But of all his stats – the 16 fourth-quarter comebacks, the second-place standing behind Dan Marino in passing yardage for the ’90s, the decade’s lead in TD passes – one means more than any of the others. Come Sunday afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Favre will start his 127th consecutive game…an NFL record.’

‘Favre expects a better offensive showing this week, but knows that won’t be easy. He thinks the Bills’ defense is better than last year’s top-ranked unit. It doesn’t help the Packers that one of their biggest weapons, running back Dorsey Levens, is out with a knee injury. However, they aren’t devoid of talent. Antonio Freeman is one of the best wide receivers in the league. Fellow wideout Bill Shroeder is a rising star with a knack for getting open downfield. The Packers also have a couple of quality tight ends in Tyrone Davis and Bubba Franks, their first-round draft pick out of the University of Miami. Running back Ahman Green is no Levens, but he brings more game-breaking speed. Still, stopping Favre is Priority One for the Bills’ defense. "He can make plays any time, so we’re particularly concerned with him," Phillips said. "Normally when you give him a little time, he’s going to tear you up. He just didn’t happen to do it (against the Jets), but he still had them in position to win. He’s that kind of quarterback."’

‘Quarterback Rob Johnson thinks the source of Moulds’ frustration was the lack of receiving opportunities last Sunday. With the Titans paying special attention to him, Moulds didn’t catch a pass until the fourth quarter. He had two receptions for 46 yards, including a 36-yarder that set up Steve Christie’s winning field goal. Both passes were thrown by Alex Van Pelt. Johnson threw to Moulds four or five times without a completion, although Moulds drew one pass interference penalty. "I’m sure he is (frustrated) a little bit. I know I would be if I was him," Johnson said. "He’s an outstanding player and he wants the ball. All the receivers are all the same. All the great ones want the ball, and if they don’t get it, they are not happy, I assume." However, there’s also speculation Moulds could be unhappy about his contract situation. Moulds becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, and stands to cash in with a huge contract the way receivers such as Keyshawn Johnson, Isaac Bruce, Marvin Harrison and Joey Galloway did this past offseason. Moulds has said in the past he wants to stay in Buffalo, but the Bills don’t have enough money under the salary cap right now. It may take dumping some high-priced talent after the season to give Moulds a contract he is happy with.’

‘Perhaps the most impressive of the Bills’ new breed is Wiley, the defensive end charged with replacing the NFL’s second-leading sacker of all-time, Bruce Smith. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Wiley has the Bills in the running to own the NFL’s best defense, again. That’s right, again. The Bills’ no-name defense, which was denied even a single Pro Bowl selection last season, had the NFL’s top-rated defense in 1999 even if most people thought that label belonged to Baltimore (which was second) Tampa Bay (third) or Jacksonville (fourth). "I don’t think we got our due as far as being No. 1," Bills linebacker Sam Cowart said. "If you ask a lot of people who finished No. 1, I think they might have said Tampa Bay or Jacksonville or something." If no one saw what the Bills’ defense did last year, which included holding Tennessee to 15 points in an AFC wild card game before the Titans used a kickoff lateral to win in the final minute, then they should have taken notice on Sunday night. In front of a national television audience in the 2000 opener, the Bills made Titans’ Pro Bowl running back Eddie George look like he belonged on the practice squad. George averaged only 2.2 yards a carry and finished with a mere 37 yards. Tennessee managed only 172 yards of total offense in the Bills’ 16-13 victory.’

‘It’s expedient to chalk up Buffalo’s 16-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday night as revenge for last season’s Music City Miracle, but that wasn’t the cause. It’s also simplistic to say it was because of dropped passes by Tennessee’s Frank Wycheck and Eddie George. There are always a few plays that would change a game if you went back and changed their outcome. The reason the Bills won is because of good, old-fashioned, football technique. They did it so well that Bills defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, a Chester native, should have gotten the game ball. The Bills were able to walk away with the victory because the Buffalo defense, particularly the interior linemen, shut the door on George, Tennessee’s workhorse of a running back.’

‘The Buffalo Bills weren’t interested in making excuses for their lackluster offensive performance in the season-opening victory over Tennessee. They readily admitted they made mistakes, but the fact is it was just the first game, and the Titans weren’t exactly a nice, cushy opponent to kick off the season against. "That was a good team we played," running back Antowain Smith said. For all the missed blocks, penalties, errant passes and ineffective runs, the bottom line — as coach Wade Phillips pointed out — was that the Bills came out with a 1-0 record. "My biggest concern is the win," Phillips said. "If we win, that’s the important thing and that’s what I want the team to realize. The most important thing is to win."’

‘The Bills special team units are dominated by young players long on exuberance but short on experience, and it showed Sunday night in the season opener against Tennessee. Be honest. Every time the Bills went flying downfield to cover a kick or punt, you flashed back to the Home Run Throw Back, especially on that last kickoff return when Derrick Mason was streaking up the middle of the field in the final half-minute looking like he was protected by an invisible force field. Be honest. Every time new Bills’ return man Chris Watson went to field a kickoff or punt, he looked like a Little League outfielder trying to gauge a fly ball. "Just catch it! Just catch it!" many in the crowd of 72,492 screamed.’

‘Eric Moulds, who stormed out of the locker room after Sunday’s night’s victory over the Tennessee Titans, again refused to speak with reporters yesterday. "I’m not happy," Moulds was quoted as saying following Sunday’s win. Quarterback Rob Johnson speculated that Moulds’ frustration is showing early over the extra attention he’s receiving from opposing defenses now that veteran Andre Reed is no longer with the team. Moulds caught just two passes — not until the fourth quarter — against the Titans for 46 yards. His last catch, for 36 yards, set up Steve Christie’s winning field goal. Apparently that wasn’t a good enough start for Moulds. He becomes a free agent after this season and is looking to join the highest-paid receivers in the NFL, such as Joey Galloway and Keyshawn Johnson, who earn $5-6 million annually. Moulds’ cap figure for this season is just under $1 million.’

‘Since Ted Rogers bought the Blue Jays – what, already? – and installed Paul Godfrey as the tallest forehead, hardly anyone holding the reins of power seems to be talking baseball. Somebody thought Rogers would leap into the fray to buy the Maple Leafs, once the Honest Grocer (ret.) was eased out, and there were suggestions The Cable Guy take over the Argos, too. But it turns out the real sporting passion for the new baseball proprietors seems to be a favourite old fantasy friend and trend, the NFL coming to Toronto…But if we’re thinking NFL – and the usual suspects are because of Godfrey’s re-emergence into the limelight – let us consider the following: That new $700 million (U.S., of course, meaning more than $1 billion Cdn.) price tag for NFL expansion franchises apparently is no matter any longer. Because now Toronto is going to sit on a Ralph Wilson mortality watch and wait for the Buffalo Bills to become available? Hmmmm. The suggestion, obviously, is that the NFL will allow the move of a team out of an established market, one with an 80,000-seat stadium, into an unestablished market, one that is governed by trends (Raptors in; Blue Jays and Argos out). Most importantly, it also is a market that contains no stadium suitable to the NFL. The only way you buy this scenario is to believe that the stadium will be provided. How? Well, you know how. That 100,000-seat Olympic 2008 stadium, the one that is going to be 20,000 permanent seats with 80,000 Meccano-set seats added on.’

‘Pat Williams has surprised everyone in the NFL. Everyone, that is, except for the Buffalo Bills. Signed as an undrafted free agent for the NFL minimum salary in 1997, the defensive tackle Williams is emerging as a force in the Bills’ new-look scheme. Lining up alongside fellow heavyweight nose tackle Ted Washington, the two 310-plus-pounders provide an effective and — after one game — unstoppable one-two punch. “It worked good. Not anybody can stop me or Ted,” Williams said after practice Wednesday. “(Washington) softens then up for me, and then I go out and punish them a little more. “So Ted punishes them, I punish them, and they be done.”‘