Archives for October 2001

‘So how can Williams keep this team from quitting? How can he keep their spirits up and get them to work harder, play better, and maybe win a few games during the final three-quarters of the season? "As a professional football player and as a coach you’ve got to maintain the course," Williams said yesterday during a break in preparation for Thursday night’s nationally televised game in Jacksonville against the Jaguars. The logical question here would be ‘What is the course?’ because thus far, this team seems to be farther off course than Christopher Columbus when he set sail in 1492.’

‘Still, Hansen’s status for the Jaguars is questionable after he re-aggravated his injury in practice on Sunday. He was able to practice yesterday at the stadium but was still favoring the arm.’

‘NFL Crazy Lenses, retailing for $120 to $150 a pair, are being sold as accessories, not to correct vision. They will initially be available in designs of a handful of teams, including the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings.’

‘A surfer who practically grew up on the beach, the former Jaguars quarterback is as loose and laid back as ever these days. Even in frigid Buffalo, Johnson’s Southern California roots are still showing. "I’m just having fun and rolling with it," he said. Listening to Johnson joke and laugh, you would never know his career with the Bills — not to mention Buffalo’s season — is crashing down around him.’

‘Coughlin also was asked how he felt about the nearly 8,000 empty seats at Alltel Stadium for the Browns game. "It obviously isn’t an inspiration," he said. "It’s not as exciting. The full support is lacking to a certain extent. Does it have anything to do with how we play? I hope not."’

‘The completion rate against the Bills so far is an astounding 67 percent. Buffalo can’t stop the run and applies almost no pressure (just five sacks in four games), so it’s little wonder the Bills are giving up 32 points a game.’

Dick Roach was a coach with the Buffalo Bills from 1987-97.

The absence of defensive coordinator Joe Pascale due to back problems has caused problems with Chargers defense and Roach worked with Butler in Buffalo.

The Jaguars confirmed late this afternoon that this Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills will be blacked out to the Jacksonville tv market.

Nearly 6,000 tickets remained at the close of business today. The blackout marks the 2nd consecutive regular-season Jaguars home game not to be televised in Jacksonville.

"After watching yesterday’s ballgames, getting a chance to see some of the things that took place, and you can see again, the division is wide open. Everyone in our division has at least two losses, we need to win in front of a national spotlight, and get on a roll right now."

After analyzing the Buffalo Bills’ first four games, the inescapable conclusion is that they simply lack the raw materials to contend, even in the National Football League’s present watered-down state.

Problem is, there’s not much the Bills can do at this point to beef up a roster that’s been outscored 128-71 over the course of four one-sided losses. All they can do is keep trying to get better. Or at least prevent things from getting worse.

Bills Director of Pro Personnel John Guy talks about the Jaguars.

As a kickoff specialist and former field goal kicker, Moorman had a natural tendency to "cut" with his leg (kick slightly to the side) instead of punting straight through the ball. While he got away with that in college, he had to fix it in the pros. In Seattle, Moorman also worked on his drop. "Ninety percent of the punt," he says, "is the drop."

‘The Bills face an opponent missing two of its four best players when they go to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars on Thursday night. The Jaguars’ offense will operate without star running back Fred Taylor and All-Pro left tackle Tony Boselli.’

‘"He threw the ball extremely well, especially in the wind today," said coach Gregg Williams. "He had a fresh arm. It seems like there is no residual effect from it right now."’

[VIDEO] NFL Insider – CNNSI.com analyst Pat Kirwan lists some backup QBs who could rescue their struggling teams (Dallas, Seattle, Buffalo).

Most surprising boost came from Alex Van Pelt in Buffalo. After Rob Johnson get hurt, Van Pelt came in and threw three TDs. One Bills player told me ‘We need Alex out there but I can’t put my finger on it but it is something’.