Archives for October 2, 2000

‘"The way this turned out doesn’t surprise me at all. The way this turned out — coming down to the last play — doesn’t surprise me at all. It was a real dogfight right from the beginning," said Colts coach Jim Mora. "To come up here and beat these guys here in a really important game for both teams is a tremendous accomplishment for our football team. I couldn’t be more proud of them."’

‘Waiting for the elevator outside the Ralph Wilson Stadium press box, the Indianapolis Colts’ assistant coaches who had been in the booth, spotted general manager Bill Polian. Spontaneously, they shared a collective hug and Polian, who held that position for eight seasons with Buffalo, gave a relieved eye roll that said, ‘We stole one.”

‘Indianapolis sacked Bills’ quarterback Rob Johnson four times. The first was recorded by former Bill Cornelius Bennett. Later, Marcus Johnson sacked Johnson, who fumbled, with tackle John Fina recovering. However, Fina wasn’t allowed to advance the ball since the fumble occurred in the final two minutes of a half and, thus, could only be taken forward by the fumbler. Dwight Hollier also got a sack. It was first sack of the season for all three linebackers. In addition, defensive end Chad Bratzke recorded his second sack of the campaign.’

‘As for Vanderjagt, he once played a double for actor Tony Danza in a football movie called ‘The Garbage Pickin’ Field-Goal Kickin’ Philadelphia Phenomenon.’ That my well be a forgettable part, but his heroics yesterday will be a role that will be remembered for a long time.’

‘Nope, the burden of this second straight AFC East loss sits squarely on the shoulders of Buffalo’s offense. “We definitely blew good opportunities in the first half,” Johnson said. It came back to bite them in the end.’

‘In a game that was dominated by the Bills in almost every statistical category the Colts have to feel fortunate to come out of there with a win. The Bills who has had a very weak running game so far this year was able to "run by committee" and put up some impressive numbers. The combination of running Bryson and Litton had 101 yards on 24 carries. Rob Johnson had a solid day connecting on 21 of 32 for 246 yards and a TD. What hurt Buffalo the most was their inability to punch the Ball in the end zone. In the first half Buffalo had three impressive drives that got them in the red zone every time, but had to settle for field goals.’

‘Overall, this was a tough battle in a tough place to come away with a win. Perhaps not the prettiest of victories but I’ll take it. I’m sure Jim Mora and the Colts will say the same.’

‘Buffalo had run for 170 yards and a 5.2 average, passed for 246, performed well on special teams, had no turnovers and almost a 12-minute advantage in time of possession. In addition, the Bills’ defense limited the production of the Colts’ talented trio of Manning, Harrison and running back Edgerrin James. Usually that is a prescription for winning. Not Sunday, however. The problem was the Bills’ inability to put the ball in the end zone, especially in the first half.’

‘"Our defense held them to 18 points," said center Jerry Ostroski. "I feel bad. I don’t even want to look those guys in the eye. It’s a joke. That’s another week now that they’ve played lights out. . . . We’re a 4-0 football team and here we are sitting 2-2 and we’ve dug ourselves a nice little hole by losing the last two weeks."’

‘"It gets us past the frustration that now we know we can run the ball," Linton said. "But we didn’t win. That’s the biggest stat there is.

"We didn’t score a rushing touchdown. The running backs obviously didn’t do enough."’

‘"I told Coach Mora at halftime that we needed to kick into the wind in the third quarter so in the fourth quarter, when I kick the game-winner, we’ll have the wind," Vanderjagt said. "He’s like, "I don’t care how you do it, just go get it done.’ " He said, "I’m gonna kick the winner for ya,’ " Mora said. "I kinda laughed it off."’

‘If Indianapolis’ hair-raising, 18-16, last-play victory over Buffalo could be distilled down to one essential factor, it would be this: Johnson, for all his skills, is not yet up to winning a war of nerves against the Colts’ wonder quarterback, Peyton Manning.’

‘Sunday’s 18-16 win over the Buffalo Bills was a case in point. It wasn’t the greatest day for the Colts’ triplets. But when a pass needed to be completed, when a clutch run or catch had to be executed, they delivered.’

‘Kicker Steve Christie kicked three field goals in the first half, but he was miffed when coach Wade Phillips declined to attempt another on fourth-and-6 from the Colts’ 29 with about four minutes left in the third quarter and the Bills leading, 9-7. After Christie and holder Chris Mohr took a few steps onto the field for the 46-yard field-goal attempt, Phillips waved them back because he wanted to go for the first down. Christie threw up his hands and ripped off his helmet. "I told (special teams coach) Ronnie (Jones) I was ready to go, and Ronnie called for the field goal," Christie said. "But then Wade overruled him and kept us off. I was ready to go. "He said we were going for it and that was it. His call. I’ll just leave it at that."’

‘Unsung Heroes: The Colts’ defense. In spite of giving up the 40-yard TD pass, they held Buffalo to three field goals on first-half trips into the red zone, keeping the offense within striking distance the entire game.’