Archives for October 20, 2003

‘”They really hustled today; everybody could see it,” Wilson said. “In this league it’s too tough to win if you just go through the motions. Any team would have had a hard time beating the Bills today because they played with so much emotion. They kept swinging.”‘

‘”We just don’t know,” he said. “I will say unequivocally that Travis is our guy, the guy we’re counting on. That’s the way I see it for the foreseeable future until something happens to change that.”‘

‘”I give credit to Drew, to Kevin Gilbride – he called a great game tonight – and to my whole team. All my teammates had the faith and belief in me that I could go out there and do it. I give them all the credit for it.”‘

‘How about this statistical line for the Redskins: 8 first downs, 169 total yards, 2 of 14 on third-down conversions, 10 possessions out of 13 where the Redskins failed to make a first down.’

‘Running backs: The coaches finally provided Travis Henry with a game plan he could sink his teeth into. He had 86 yards and one TD by halftime, and started the second half with a strong 21-yard dash to trigger an 80-yard TD drive. By feasting on draws and toss pitches, he finished with 167 yards on 31 carries, both season highs and a career-best for yards. A’

‘So what is it that Williams can do to turn around his team and career here in Buffalo? Here’s one suggestion, a tactic that has worked for coaching wizard and turnaround specialist Bill Parcells, now of the Dallas Cowboys, and something that just might be the tonic to save Williams: Coloring his frosty hair blond.’

‘”To have a quarterback say that, that means a lot,” Henry said. “He has been the guy to keep my head up.”‘

‘But people in these parts have a short memory when it comes to their beloved Bills and Henry did a good job in proving to them that he is still the No.1 back in Buffalo until further notice.’

‘The Bills (4-3) began the day with the NFL’s last-ranked offense and were without injured wide receiver Eric Moulds but outgained the Redskins 432 yards to 169. Struggling tailback Travis Henry ran for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Drew Bledsoe completed 19 of 26 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown to wideout Josh Reed, who had eight catches for 109 yards. The Bills held Redskins defensive end Bruce Smith without a sack in his return to Buffalo.’

‘”[The offense] just made up [its] mind,” Henry said. “The offensive line took it upon themselves to come out and just have a good game. They just got in a groove and I got in a groove with them. They did a terrific job.”‘

‘Ramsey seemed to feel more anguish from Washington’s worst offensive output of the season while facing one of the best defenses in the league. (Entering Sunday’s game, Buffalo was ranked sixth overall and second in pass defense.) Ramsey completed 9 of 26 passes for 115 yards and finished with a 62.2 quarterback rating. “We couldn’t get into a groove,” Redskins wide receiver Rod Gardner said.’

‘And there’s also no bigger indictment of the head coach of such a team than the fact that it didn’t fight, that his players didn’t put forth the necessary effort.’

‘Spurrier said it was the first time this season that he felt his players did not put forth the proper effort.’

‘Worst Tackling: Redskins safeties Matt Bowen and Todd Franz both fanned while trying to tackle Henry, who scored on a 14-yard touchdown to increase the Bills’ lead to 24-7 in the fourth quarter. Henry rushed for a career-high 167 yards and scored two touchdowns.’

‘The Redskins did little to convince coaches and fans alike that they can turn their once-promising season around. Their fourth loss in their last five games bore plenty of similarities to the ones that preceded it.’