Archives for October 2002

‘"We had an opportunity again and it didn’t happen. The defense gave up a quick score before halftime, but then really kept us in it in the second half. Then we got stopped twice on fourth down. Good football teams make those first downs."’

‘"I was aggressive a couple of times and they called pass interference penalties on me," Lyght said. "It caused me to not be as aggressive as I would’ve liked. We were trying to be aggressive, but this league is becoming an offensive league and it’s difficult to play defense these days. You can only hit the quarterback in the upper body; you can’t him in the knees, you can’t hit him in the head. With the receivers, you can only jam them so long and you have to stay off of them."’

‘The Lions also blew two fourth-down situations that could’ve turned the momentum of the game. When the team needed the offense the most, it disappeared.’

‘In fact, more than the dynamic Drew Bledsoe-led offense, it has been the defense that has keyed a three-game winning streak, officially thrusting the Bills into the playoff picture.’

‘With the pesky Lions out of the way, the Bledsoe Bowl is finally here, and let the hype begin.’

‘Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg: “You can take your hat off to Drew Bledsoe, he does things that a veteran quarterback does.”‘

‘Centers, whose 785 receptions are the most ever by a running back, is focusing on another streak: Three straight wins. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been on a team that won that many in row,” said the 13-year NFL veteran. “I’m serious.”‘

‘They’ve gone from pretenders to contenders. They are good enough to dream.’

‘You know it is another zany NFL season when the Buffalo Bills are favored by 3 points Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.’

‘Eric Moulds and Peerless Price continue their Pro Bowl bids, each topping 100 yards receiving in the same game for the second time this season. When the Lions blitzed, the Dynamic Duo made them pay dearly. Moulds (9 catches for 123 yards) simply could not be covered by Lions cornerback Todd Lyght one-on-one, and set up one TD with a 42-yard grab. Price put a great deke on cornerback Eric Davis to score. A+’

‘”I’ve been here for four years and the last couple have been really rough,” said Price, who undressed Lions’ defensive back Eric Davis with a midfield deke. “I am just happy we have a winning streak. I don’t even care if we win ugly.”‘

‘After three consecutive games of throwing for more than 350 yards, Harrington was held to 199 completing 20 of 42 attempts. He managed to avoid a sack, but the Buffalo defence got in his face enough to repeatedly force him to get rid of the ball quickly.’

‘”It was nice to see them step up and win it at the end of the game,” said Bills head coach Gregg Williams of his defensive unit key, late stop.’

‘The lesson? "Got to play better, more often," Harrington said, mustering his best response to a situation that is growing increasingly frustrating to him and his teammates.’

‘"The coaches kept stressing for us to keep banging on this guy and he’ll cough it up," Walker said. "We needed to get the ball back, so we were just trying to make one play at a time. I felt that I got a pretty good shot on him. . . ."’