Archives for September 2003

‘”We need to get our focus where our focus needs to be and that’s on New England,” Donahoe said. “It would be great if we get the player, but if we don’t get him we’ve got a very important game to play and it’s going to need all of our attention.”‘

‘I am on record as picking the Bills to win the AFC East, a prediction made on the strength of their earlier signings. I am beginning to have second thoughts about selecting the Kansas City Chiefs as the winner of the AFC championship. Right now, the Bills have moved into that territory.’

‘Milloy, 29, spent the last seven seasons with the New England Patriots, who selected him in the second round of the 1996 NFL draft out of Washington. He went on to appear in all 112 games for the Patriots since that time and has started the last 106 straight contests for New England.’

‘All donations will benefit the Food Bank of WNY. Food Bank volunteers and Bills wives and girlfriends will join the Buffalo Jills and members of the team’s Blue Coat program to collect monetary donations and non-perishable food items at all gates.’

‘First of all, the biggest change that I notice in Buffalo is on special teams. They have a new kicker but they have a very explosive return game. Their kickoff return game in preseason has been strong. The punt return game is probably as good as anybody’s in the league. Antonio Brown has shown great speed and play making ability in that phase of the game. So that is a big change for them. Offensively, they have a number of new faces. They have [Sam] Gash at fullback. [Josh] Reed stepped in as their regular receiver. [Bobby] Shaw is their third receiver. It looks like there is a little more emphasis on some of their two-back runs with Gash in there but they also still have their passing game even without Price they still have a lot of weapons in the passing game. They get the ball down the field and do a pretty good job of balancing their attack between power running and giving the ball to [Travis] Henry who is one of the top backs in the league, and being able to sling it. Defensively, the additions starting, with Dick LeBeau. I think you can already start to see some of his influence in the defensive scheme, some blitz-zoning, some different pressures. They are doing a few things schematically a little different than they did last year on defense. They have added some players like Spikes and [Jeff] Posey, Adams to go with Pat Williams on the defensive line. [Ryan] Denney is starting for them at left end so they look like they have incorporated a little bit of some scheme changes and then also some personnel changes. They look bigger on defense especially with Adams in there and Williams. They have added some pass rushers in terms of Posey and some playmakers in terms of Spikes. They are a good solid team that has added some players and added some scheme things in the offseason. You see those things in the preseason games. I am sure they have got some things that they are holding back too.’

‘Well, the position was open a few years ago because I had to have some changes being made and we went through those difficult changes. Where the Patriots are dealing with a cap issue this week, we dealt with a bunch of those my first year. We had a bunch of really good football players that were no longer here, and all of them basically were on the defensive side of the ball. So I totally understand how the nature of the business with the salary cap era here affects your team and your organization. We’ve gone through those that first difficult year, made some progress last year and then were able to have maybe a little bit more of an impact this year. With three good drafts, with good young players and having the ability to bring in some quality free agents this past year, hopefully we’ll be able to take another step along the road to where we all went to be. And that’s winning a division championship and competing for a world championship. That’s what we want to do and it’s just a matter of time. And in this new salary cap era you’ve got to go through some of those things. I think that Tom [Donahoe] and his staff have done a great job on how we’ve gone through that time. From a football point of view we have done a pretty good job of transitioning and doing what is best for the players that are here. This year we made a significant impact on our defense and hopefully we can take another step there.’

‘Milloy had also been named to the AFC’s Pro Bowl squad four out of the last five years.’

‘”We think he’s still a good football player,” said general manager Tom Donahoe. “We heard a lot of stories out of New England that Bledsoe was washed up too.”‘

‘VU has been told that the Vikings were willing to offer Milloy something in the neighborhood of $2 million a year for a short-term deal, which was quickly dismissed. The Bills thought they had a deal done Tuesday, but Milloy’s agent gave the Vikings, Jets, Saints and Redskins a chance to sweeten their offers. In the end, the Bills upped their own offer and signed Milloy.’

‘”I don’t’ think it’s just pigeon holed to just a Lawyer. This happened to Neil O’Donnell. It happens every year, that’s just part of the business. You have got to deal with now in this league. We dealt with that two years ago a bit, so we’re out of the back end of those types of things. I think Tom (Donahoe) has addressed this before in the past. We hope that we can manage the situation so that we’re not going through this type of situation this late in preseason, this late in training camp. We’re not in that kind of situation right now. It’s unfortunate that it happens but that’s just a tough part of the business that we’re in, in the NFL now.”‘

‘"Although we’re saddened that this will be the last year for ‘Jumbogate,’ we are thrilled with the cooperation we received from the Buffalo Bills and the NFL that let us go forward with the event," said Michael Gross, executive director of Heritage Centers.’

‘The Bills want more big plays from their safeties and their current starters, Pierson Prioleau and Coy Wire, combined for zero interceptions in 2002.’

‘Still, Donahoe doesn’t think Milloy lost any edge. ”We think he’s still a good football player. Obviously, they do to. They tried to keep them,” Donahoe said.’

‘"We’re kind of in a holding pattern with this. We’ve been told that we are one of the teams that Lawyer is seriously taking a look at. We hope to know something today. We had hoped to know something last night but I guess they are still looking at the offers and trying to decide what they want to do."’

‘Either way, Milloy is outta here. His next stop? Would you believe the Bills, who just happen to be the Patriots’ opponent in Sunday’s season opener in Orchard Park, N.Y.? Buffalo, after all, had success with the last ex-Patriot to come down the pike. If Bledsoe can help broker a deal – ESPN.com had the suitors narrowed to the Bills, New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins – Milloy, 29, could suit up for one of the Pats’ fiercest competitors just five days after being pink-slipped.’