Archives for September 2003

‘But it’s funny how a guy that big can get overlooked. He came here 17 months ago as the No. 4 pick in the draft, the Bills’ highest draft pick since Bruce Smith. But he became old news after Drew Bledsoe’s arrival. This year, all the fuss was about the new additions on the defense. It’s reached the point where people take him almost for granted.’

‘Team sources said Wright had his share of problems before his latest arrest. Just this season, he was served with an order to pay a car loan he abandoned in Tennessee. He was given an eviction notice for failing to pay rent on his apartment in Western New York. He also had his furniture repossessed because he failed to keep up with those payments, sources said.’

‘Who is to blame for the poor running game, Travis Henry or the offensive line? Probably a combination, but one would have to lean toward the line. Henry knows how to run, and he usually makes good decisions on picking holes or cutting back. Against the Jags, he had nowhere to go because the line had trouble keeping Jacksonville’s front seven out of the backfield.’

‘Unless the Bills start establishing a ground attack, teams are going to start loading up against the pass and making it a lot more difficult for the gunslinging Bledsoe.’

‘But Buffalo vs. Miami goes beyond the team. It extends to the fans. A clash of cultures. Chicken wings vs. tofu. Snow shovels vs. sun block.’

‘”We’ve got to get better in everything, and that’s certainly an area that has not been as consistent as we’d like it to be,” offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said of the running game. “(Jacksonville has) a good front, that’s one of the strengths of their football team. That doesn’t dismiss the fact that we have to run better, there’s no question, but that’s an area that they were committed to, stopping the run. What they were doing made it difficult to run, but it made them very vulnerable to us being able to hold the ball long enough to let some of those routes develop.”‘

‘The Bills have won their first games by a combined 69-17, but their running game is a point of concern heading into this week’s game at Miami.’

‘”If we are going to be the team that we expect ourselves to be, we have to win on the road. This was a big test for our young guys coming down here, but we’ve got another one next week.” — Bills coach Gregg Williams on winning the first road game of the year.’

”’The first one, I think, we needed psychologically as a team after what happened the year before,” said Gilbride, referring to Buffalo’s two lopsided losses against New England last season. ”And this one (against Jacksonville) was to prove that it wasn’t going to be a letdown, that we were going to come out and play just as well as we could as we did the previous week.”’

Wright was arrested last Wednesday morning in the town of Hamburg, a suburb of Buffalo, after he was involved in a three-car accident. Three people were transported to area hospitals with injuries after Wright rear-ended one of the vehicles. Wright was also injured, but did not go to a hospital.

Forgot to tell you this last week, but Lawyer Milloy really wanted to sign with Seattle. So much so he would have taken less to play there. But the Seahawks, who talked to agent Carl Poston about Milloy, are in good secondary shape and never were in Buffalo’s financial ballpark of four years and $15 million. Reggie Tongue is good enough for Seattle to get by with at strong safety.

Excellent response to PFW article on Bills by Stadium Wall All Pro Barry Brady.

‘The Bills were 8-14 in the game on third down, despite a running game that was virtually non-existent outside the red zone.’

‘”I don’t know if you can establish yourself as the team to beat after two games,” he pointed out with an eye toward next Sunday night’s game against the Dolphins in Miami. “But we can definitely set the tone for how we’re going to play for the rest of the season.”‘

‘And, oh yeah, Buffalo middle linebacker London Fletcher wasn’t even frustrated at the short field his unit inherited. “The fake punt didn’t go our way,” he admitted, “but I look at it as a challenge for us to step up and play.”‘