Archives for December 8, 2003

‘Buffalo’s 17-6 stifling of the New York Jets may not have thrilled the casual fan who needs a long pass every other series and a minimum of two touchdowns per hour to enjoy the game. But for anyone who likes to see a team execute the basic fundamentals of winning football, it was a thing of beauty.’

‘This performance was exactly what Bills fans’ had expected after Buffalo’s 2-0 start. Instead, there were seven losses in nine games, including a protracted streak of nearly three full games without a touchdown.’

‘A year after winning the AFC East with a late-season run, the Jets will have to settle for playing out the regular season with nothing at stake (for them) except pride.’

‘The crowd of 72,791 featured only 1,176 no-shows, despite temperatures in the low 20s and wind-chill in the low teens.’

‘The way the Buffalo Bills running back tore through the New York Jets’ defense, it looked like he possessed superhuman powers. Call him the Teflon Torpedo. If he wasn’t running straight through Jets tacklers like a Human Anvil, he was sliding off them as if his entire body was coated with a non-stick surface.’

‘”It’s very frustrating when you take pride in stopping the run and in November and December teams begin to run the football more,” said Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. “We knew what they were doing, but we made mistakes and did not get the job done.”‘

‘”The offense did a good job of putting us in a situation where (the Jets) had to throw the ball,” said Schobel, who followed last week’s three-sack day with one sack and a load of pressures Sunday. “We blitzed them. We got after them. It was fun out there.”‘

‘”It’s the biggest misconception of a big man, especially after you get up in your years,” Takeo Spikes said. “He has a lot of gas left in the tank. A lot of times, he may not make the tackle, but he will make the play. Only people who watch football and study football will see that. His name might not be on the stat sheet, but he created the whole thing.”‘

‘”It hasn’t been easy not playing,” Sullivan said. “It has been a little frustrating because you feel like you can help the team in some capacity. Those are the cards that were dealt to me, so I had to take it. But I didn’t have to accept it, though. All I did all season was to prepare myself mentally every week as if I was starting. When my opportunity came today I just wanted to make the most of it.”‘

‘”Our season isn’t done yet. We might be on life support, but we haven’t flat-lined.”‘

‘”And when we play total defense, the offense puts points up and the special teams are solid, we’re a dominant team. That’s what makes the situation we’re in so disappointing. This team is so much better than what our record shows.”‘

‘The big man outdid himself against the Jets with two sacks, seven tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage, and a batted-down pass, personally thwarting half of the Jets’ 10 possessions. It was fitting that after gobbling up normally elusive quarterback Chad Pennington to force a field goal at the end of a 17-play drive to open the game, Adams celebrated by stretching out his arms like a B-52 bomber and gyrating to the delight of 72,000 frozen patrons.’

‘”Travis, you’ve had a lot of great games for us, but this one was the best of them all,” Wilson gushed while pumping the Pro Bowl running back’s hand. “It got to a point where the Jets wanted nothing more to do with you. They didn’t want to hit you anymore because you were delivering all those punishing blows. You really hurt them.”‘

‘This is how this team should play every game, and it makes you want to scream, “Why haven’t they?”‘

‘Travis Henry added to his credentials for team Most Valuable Player honors with a career-best 169 yards, his fifth 100-yard outing in his past seven games, hitting the 1,139-mark for the season. Ran with power and smarts, all on that busted fibula. Only error was a late lost fumble. So why did the Bills draft Willis McGahee again?’