Archives for November 25, 2003

‘We’ve gone from extremely high expectations, fostered, no less, by the players themselves, to almost feeling sorry for them.’

‘If you watched the game Sunday you cannot say that the Bills lost because of a lack of effort. Travis Henry played with a fractured leg. Eric Moulds should be resting that painful groin injury. Sam Gash already has his Super Bowl ring but he’s still busting linebackers in the mouth. Lack of effort did not cause the loss. What’s missing is that spark and that excitement and most importantly that confidence that the winning teams and the teams on the rise have that the Bills do not.’

‘At some point over the next few weeks, the Bills will consider whether it’s time for certain players, mainly Henry and Moulds, to end the season and avoid further damage. There also comes a time when players, no matter how tough, hurt their team. When is enough, enough?’

‘Easterbrook has been a consistent critic this season of teams such as the Buffalo Bills who have a fondness for passing in third-and-short-yardage situations. What separates him from other NFL columnists, however, is he might express his feelings about Bills coach Gregg Williams in haiku, or trot out a theory about why the Bills are cursed since they changed the color scheme of their uniforms a few years ago.’

‘Last year, the Bills were 4-3 in games decided by 7 points or less, meaning they played in more competitive games and were better at winning them. Whatever confidence quarterback Drew Bledsoe and his offensive teammates had playing in the clutch has slipped away with many other facets of their game.’

‘The 2003 Bills have an NFL-low six TD passes through 11 games. If they tie the team single-game record with six TD passes in each of the remaining five games, they’d still fall three short of tying the single-season record set 12 years ago (33 by Jim Kelly and six by Frank Reich).’

‘And Tom Donahoe can be thankful for an owner who didn’t fire him two months ago.’

‘WHO is Ryan Denney? Allegedly he’s a defensive end who wears No. 92 for the Bills. When you see him, call Gregg Williams. As a second-round draft choice and someone the Bills traded up to get, Denney is a bust.’

‘The Bills are giving it their all, but two things are holding them back and have been key reasons for their four-game slide: First and foremost, they aren’t as good as many prognosticators thought they were, but second, they have endured some debilitating injuries to key personnel.’

‘For the fourth game in a row, all losses, and for the fifth time this season QB Drew Bledsoe failed to reach 200 yards passing.’

‘”It hurts about as bad as any loss I’ve had in football. Guys were fighting their butts off and doing everything they can to try and get this thing turned around. We laid it on the line today and yeah, it hurts.” — Center Trey Teague on the bitter disappointment of blowing a 14-3 lead and losing to the Colts.’

‘Gregg Williams says rookie WR Sam Aiken had his knee scoped on Monday. He suffered a cartilage tear during practice last Friday. Linebacker Jeff Posey has a sprained knee and will undergo a MRI. Guard Mike Pucillo has a turf toe sprain. Williams says all three will be updated on Wednesday.’

‘The issue here has been written about and talked about at length in these parts, and that is the failure of Kevin Gilbride’s offensive philosophy to adapt to the talent he has at hand, not to mention the seeming unwillingness of Gregg Williams to either suggest or insist on a different approach. Don’t think Bills players don’t notice this. They do. Many of them are very unhappy about it privately, but they also realize at this point there is nothing to be gained by going public about it. Many of them are unhappy with Gilbride’s play calling, but are also disappointed in Williams for allowing the overwhelming reliance on the pass to continue.’

”’Nothing’s left,” Winfield said. ”We’ve got five games left. Go out there, do what you do. Go home at the end of the season.”’

‘Bills rookie receiver Sam Aiken has torn cartilage in his right knee and his status is uncertain for the rest of the season.’