Archives for October 20, 2003

‘”It was certainly an emotional experience for me coming back and seeing so many fans yelling and chanting,” said Smith, who played 217 games and made 11 Pro Bowls while playing for the Bills. “It was certainly a memorable experience for me. For all the years that I have been here and they supported my career, I just wanted to tell them, ‘Thank you.’ It was a great treat for me.”‘

‘And make no mistake, the Bills were eminently beatable. They were without their top offensive weapon, wideout Eric Moulds, and had been struggling themselves of late. But while the Bills clearly grasped the importance of the occasion – and responded with their best effort in a month – the Redskins plunged further into the depths. They let Drew Bledsoe and Co. drive for scores on two of their first three possessions and showed only the faintest glimmer of life in the second half.’

‘”We had a chance to get back into it and make it 10-7,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “We fumbled at the 1-yard line.” Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel saw it as the game’s defining moment, adding, “You sort of break their will when something like that happens.”‘

‘So this is how it ends. The Washington Redskins come up empty in a game they absolutely had to win.’

‘Though badly outplayed, the Redskins kept the crowd of 73,149 from starting the celebration too early as they closed the gap to 10-7 early in the third on Ramsey’s 25-yard pass to Rod Gardner streaking down the right sidelines. But they never threatened to take the lead after that.’

‘”It was an honor to be back in this stadium,” said Smith, refusing to discuss his pass-rush performance and the record. “My goal is, and always will be, to win.”‘

‘”You have to be a bit hard-headed at times,” Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe said. “You’ve got to keep going and doing the same things.”‘

‘”I don’t know how much fight we had in our team out there,” Spurrier said. “I thought we were going to have it, but obviously we didn’t have a fight the whole game.”‘

‘Play of the game: With Buffalo ahead 10-0 early in the second quarter, the Redskins put together a 68-yard drive to move inside the Bills’ 1-yard line. On third and goal, Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey took the snap, but before he could get away from center Larry Moore, Moore stepped on Ramsey’s foot, causing Ramsey to trip. Left guard Derrick Dockery was pulling on the play, and crashed into Ramsey, causing Ramsey to fumble. Buffalo recovered at the 7. The Bills didn’t score after the turnover, but the play summed up weeks of frustration for the Redskins. “I don’t know what happened,” Ramsey said. “I was spinning out to hand the ball off, something hit the ball, I lost the ball and started going for it.”‘

‘“I’m surprised because I thought that we were getting everything together and we were winning games and now all of a sudden we’re losing,” said Redskins tackle Chris Samuels, who sat out a portion of the second half with what was described as a stinger. “It’s just tough to deal with. But some way or another we’ve just got to come together and press through it and get some victories.”‘

‘“Everybody’s got their own opinion. If you ask me, `Do I question the fight?’ No. Guys in this locker room fight and when you look at the tape tomorrow you are going to see guys fighting…In truth, you can’t tell everything from just watching on the sidelines, either. I can sit on the sidelines and say [that], but until you watch that film that’s the only way you can tell. I can speak for the defense. I’m out there with my guys. I know they’re fighting every play. And that’s the bottom line.”‘

‘Buffalo’s defense gave the Redskins nearly no room to operate. Washington tried to run but couldn’t. The pass blocking was as ineffective as its has been all season, with quarterback Patrick Ramsey finally going down with an injury.’

”’A lot of people said that we were lucky,” said Talley. ”Yeah, we may have been lucky, but we were also damn good.”’

‘“We don’t think it’s too severe,” Spurrier said.’

‘Spurrier said Betts was hurt when he was kicked in the arm while blocking during the first half of Washington’s 24-7 loss.’