Archives for November 24, 2003

‘The Colts’ 17-14 win, like the rest of Buffalo’s lost season, boils down to one of those sporting truisms that sound overly simplistic but are, well, true. Good teams find a way to win. And bad ones find a way to help them. At 9-2, the Colts are indisputably good. And in case anybody still had any lingering optimism about the Bills before Sunday, they aren’t.’

‘Even so, Sunday’s loss to the Colts wasn’t a showcase of Williams and his staff’s ineptitude, as the first six losses were. This one seemingly did come down to the players. Yet, it’s becoming more and more clear that on the field, the team as a whole is starting to resemble their robot-like coach. As Williams’ vapid tones indicate, the Bills have no personality. That positive attitude that can be sensed from every crevice of the stadium, clear through your television screen just isn’t there. It’s a trait that all great teams have, and it stems from every level, from the coaches to the players. Have we ever seen Williams get mad, or even say something semi-unexpected? They are all drones and have played like it too.’

The Bills led 14-3 in the fourth quarter after touchdowns by Drew Bledsoe and Sammy Morris. Bledsoe’s 2nd quarter score was the Bills first touchdown since October 19 in a victory over Washington. Morris scored on a punishing run from 7 yards out. Though improved, the Bills offense was unable to put enough points on the board for the victory.

As I watched the Bills’ gritty defense finally wear down to the Colts’ relentless push Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t help thinking about how this team might have fared under different coaching hands. This counts for more than a little. What they need is a leader in whom they have faith.

That dream finally came true in 1994, when the Bills played in Detroit. By that time, we were coming off playing in four Super Bowls, so we had been on national TV in every one of those seasons in the playoffs and on Monday Night Football. But it was still a special feeling to play on Thanksgiving.

‘”This whole year I feel like I’m in a Stephen King horror movie,” safety Lawyer Milloy said after the Bills’ 17-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. “Every game is ending horribly. We’re fighting hard. We’re playing hard. We’re doing so many things the right way. But we’re just missing something. . . . Believe me, the effort is there. That’s what makes this so hard to swallow right now.”‘

‘”It’s just one of those things that happens,” said Moorman, whose run tied Paul Maguire (against Kansas City on Dec. 12, 1964) for the longest run by a Bills punter. “The ball hits your hands wrong and it’s a matter of making a quick decision. I looked up and there was plenty of room, so there was no need to kick it because I figured I could get to the first-down marker.”‘

‘That was not a great performance by Indianapolis. But you can find out a lot about a team when things aren’t going its way. In Sunday’s 17-14 victory, the Colts showed how a great offense, and a great quarterback, can persevere on a day when circumstances seemed stacked against them.’

‘Sometimes you have to wonder how they do it, from where it is they draw their resolve. Wasn’t the season already over? Couldn’t they see that 4-6 and a brutal closing schedule added up to 16 games and out? But that’s just it. They couldn’t see it. Or maybe, more honorably, they refused to see it, and won’t see it, not until the mathematics extinguish the final flicker of hope.’

‘”At 14-3, you worry a little bit,” Polian said. “But No. 32 (James) did what No. 34 (Thomas) used to do, you know? As I told Tony, “That’s the way those guys across the field used to win.’ When you play hard for 60 minutes, good things happen.”‘

‘”I don’t know how I made it through. I was just going on will,” said Jennings, who walked very gingerly in the locker room. “I was in bad pain, but the job was getting done at the same time. That one time Drew (Bledsoe) got sacked it was on a three-step drop and (the ball) should have been gone. Things like that happen. But, you’re talking about a guy who’s been having two- and three-sack games, so you have to battle and maintain. It wasn’t pretty, but the job got done. That’s all that matters.”‘

‘Player of the Game: Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Archie’s kid isn’t bad. He led the Colts on the two late drives. It seemed he was in command even when the Bills had a 14-3 lead.’

‘”The teams that have the good records haven’t been blowing people out; they’ve been winning the ugly games, and we haven’t won any ugly games,” Milloy said.’

‘The Bills scored only two touchdowns in their 17-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, but for them, that’s a flood. It was Biblical. Build an ark.’

‘If the 9-2 Colts are “in the arena,” then the 4-7 Bills clearly have left the building. Their playoff hopes are toast, as are the Buffalo coaching careers of Gregg Williams and Kevin Gilbride. Like the Bills offense, their time here will be remembered for going three-and-out. Three downs and out, three years and out.’