Archives for December 18, 2003

‘”[Wannstedt] went around and asked people what their mind-set was. The biggest thing was going out and having fun. You could see that today in practice. We were playing the game like it’s supposed to be played.”‘

‘Konrad, who also may miss the team’s season finale against the New York Jets, suffered a Grade II (the second-most severe type) concussion in the first quarter and was carted off the field. Dolphins trainer Kevin O’Neill said Konrad was held overnight for observation at Broward General Medical Center and released Tuesday.’

‘”All you can worry about is what you can control,” he said. “All we can control is how we play Sunday and whether or not we get a win.”‘

‘Somebody wearing a Miami uniform should be so ticked off by now that venom is spewed, and not in a Zach Thomas rant that serves more as personal catharsis than anything else. Apparently, though, nobody is.’

‘There is a reason most experts say quarterback is the most important position on a team. There are countless statistics to back that up. There are few statistics to back up Fiedler.’

‘”I mean, you can just tell week by week he’s not favoring his knee or nothing like that,” Spikes said. “I knew the rap on him, (they) say he had a lot of speed coming in. I just noticed last week, one time when he went out on a pass route and a linebacker was chasing after him, he kind of pulled away from the linebacker. I was like, he’s getting real close to playing form again.”‘

‘Bledsoe took them to the end zone in the final minute and nearly tied the game on the two-point conversion, a play that stopped Teague in his tracks, hope for the playoffs gone. “It’s kind of fitting,” Teague said. “It’s been a roller coaster. We aren’t where we thought we would be or where we should be. It’s tough to come up that short. We knew it would be close like this, but it would have been nice to come home and get a win.”‘

‘“If I get to the point where I don’t believe I can get it done, I’ll come in here and tell you that and I’ll walk away,” Bledsoe said Wednesday. “I know I can make the throws and make the plays when they’re there.”’

‘Without Donahoe having to say it, the people with a lot at stake these last two weeks are on the coaching staff and on offense.’

‘Coaches often outthink themselves and last Sunday’s loss to Tennessee was classic for Buffalo.’

‘It’s hard to believe that burly defensive tackles Sam Adams and Pat Williams have as many touchdowns, one, as Pro Bowl WR Eric Moulds.’

‘Buffalo has listed Dave Moore and Mike Williams as questionable for Sunday against the Dolphins. Rob Konrad is out for Miami while Tim Bowens and James McKnight are questionable.’

‘"We’re disappointed and I would expect that everybody involved with the team will be disappointed because that is what you eventually work for at the end of the year. We’re professionals and we have a lot to play for in respect that there are some guys in there that have played very well for the majority of the season. Defensively we still have a lot of pride to finish up as well as we can. In many of the categories, our special teams are playing very well. Some of our offensive guys have made some good turn around. We have an AFC east opponent this week. We finish up with two games in the division and this week a rivalry game. It’s a game that our fans and our team enjoy to play every year, especially at the end of the year with the weather conditions."’

‘"It’s been a disappointing season. For me I look back on it and there are a few plays that jump out that could have been difference makers and allowed our record to be different. The make up of our team is such that coming in we thought that we were going be good. The same aerial attack that we had last year just probably wasn’t going to happen. From the stand point of playing the way we needed to play to be effective and preventing some of the negative that put us in bad situations, I don’t know that I’ve been as effective in that as I should have been."’

‘Williams had a career game against the Titans, recording nine tackles in addition to scoring his first career touchdown on a 28-yard fumble recovery in the third quarter to give the Bills a 17-6 lead.’