Archives for October 20, 2003

‘There was no excuse in losing to a winless team by 27 points last week. For Williams and his fellow camarillas to remain employed, Buffalo will have to make a statement in games they should win, instead of playing down to the other teams’ level.’

‘But there they were dominating a foe the way the people who sign their paychecks, as well as those who cough up the cash in the form of ticket purchases, expected since last spring.’

‘”This had nothing to do with Willis,” he said, “this had to do with the Buffalo Bills and us getting back on track. After last week (30-3 loss to the Jets in the Meadowlands), there was a sour taste in everybody’s mouth and all the key players knew we had to come out and play good in front of the home crowd.”‘

‘”It was certainly an emotional experience for me, coming back and seeing so many fans who were yelling and chanting and saying polite and kind words,” Smith said. “It was certainly a memorable experience for me. For all the years I’ve been here, they supported my career, and I just want to tell them thank you.”‘

‘The crowd of 73,149 featured only 818 no-shows.’

‘”It’s frustrating to everyone on this team, from the coaches on down,” a disconsolate Smith said in the visiting locker room at Ralph Wilson Stadium. “Words can’t explain how this team feels and how I feel.”‘

HEY, LET’S NOT DIS THE BILLS. From Dan Baich of Buffalo: “I take offense at your reference that Indy’s Monday night victory against Tampa Baby was the greatest comeback of our time. Let me remind you of January 1993, Houston Oilers at Buffalo Bills, AFC wild-card playoff game. The Bills, minus Jim Kelly and Cornelius Bennett, rally from a 35-3 deficit in the third quarter behind Frank Reich. The Bills eventually win 41-38 in overtime in the greatest comeback in NFL history, and the greatest sporting event I’m sure I will ever witness. Now, 1993 is not that long ago. I would consider it still “our time.”

Good points. Let’s compare. The Bills, at home, were down to Houston by 32 with 25 minutes to go. The Colts, on the road, were down to Tampa Bay by 21 with five minutes left. To me, the latter is a bigger, and better, comeback.

Bills bounce the Redskins

I was in attendance for this game, and I must say that the Bills just totally dominated the game, even worse than the 24-7 final score suggests. They struck great balance in their offense, and their defense thrived with good gang-tackling.

‘”We’re probably a little hard to figure out, huh?” said quarterback Drew Bledsoe. “When we play to the level we expect to, we’re going to be competitive against anybody.”‘

‘”It was a tremendous effort,” Spikes said. “We went out with a lot of energy for the most part. I haven’t seen the film, but I can tell you once we look at the film you will be able to tell that we were fundamentally sound, doing the little things right. And once you bring a lot of energy to the party, the offense is clicking and everything just held together.”‘

‘”One day that will take place,” Smith said. “Right now, I still have some more football left to play.”‘

‘A team with strong veteran leadership shouldn’t reach the point where the 85-year-old owner is openly questioning its desire.’

‘”I am. I’m extremely proud of him,” Moulds said. “Anytime a guy works that hard, you want him to have a lot of success.”‘

‘”You know I always get up for challenges,” Jennings said. “Having a chance to go up against one of the all-time sack leaders is something I definitely looked forward to. He’s going for the sack record and everybody wants to see if he’s going to get it on me, so everybody is eyeballing me to see what’s happening. I’ve got one job to do, and it’s shut him down. That’s all it boils down to – mano a mano.”‘

‘Rob Johnson on getting booed: “Maybe they’re mad that I got a Super Bowl ring.”‘